0 


jftormong 
theatre 


By  JOHN  S.  LINDSAY 


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The  Mormons  and  the 
Theatre 


OR 


The  History  of  Theatricals  in   Utah 


With  Reminiscences  and  Comments 
Humorous  and  Critical 


fr 
By  JOHN  S>  LINDSAY 


SALT  LAKE  CITY,   UTAH 


•  Z.73 


library 


CHAPTER  I. 


In  rather  sharp  contrast  to  other  Christian  denomina- 
tions, the  Mormons  believe  in  and  are  fond  of  dancing  and 
the  theatre.  So  much  is  this  the  case  that  Friday  evening 
of  each  week  during  the  amusement  season  is  set  apart  by 
them  in  all  the  settlements  throughout  Mormondom  fo" 
their  dance  night.  Their  dances  are  generally  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  presiding  bishop  and  are  invariably  opened 
with  prayer  or  invocation,  and  closed  or  dismissed  in  the 
same  manner,  with  a  brief  return  of  thanks  to  the  Almighty 
for  the  good  time  they  have  enjoyed. 

The  theatre  is  so  popular  among  the  Mormon  people, 
that  in  almost  every  town  and  settlement  throughout  their 
domains  there  is  an  amateur  dramatic  company. 

It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  Salt  Lake  has  the 
enviable  distinction  of  being  the  best  show  town  of  its  pop- 
ulation in  the  United  States,  and  when  we  say  that,  we  may 
as  well  say  in  the  whole  world.  Is  is  a  well  established  fact 
that  Salt  Lake  spends  more  money  per  capita  in  the  theatre 
than  any  city  in  our  country. 

Such  a  social  condition  among  a  strictly  religious  peo- 
ple is  not  little  peculiar,  and  is  due,  largely,  to  the  fact  that 
Brigham  Young  was  himself  fond  of  the  dance  and  also  of 
the  theatre.  He  could  "shake  a  leg"  with  the  best  of  them, 
and  loved  to  lead  the  fair  matrons  and  maidens  of  his  flock 
forth  into  its  giddy,  bewildering  mazes.  Certain  round 
dances,  the  waltz  and  polka,  were  always  barred  at  dances 
Brigham  Young  attended,  and  only  the  old-fashioned 
quadrilles  and  cotillions  and  an  occasional  reel  like  Sir 
Roger  de  Coverly  or  the  Money  Musk  were  tolerated  by 
the  great  Mormon  leader. 

That  Brigham  Young  was  fond  of  the  theatre  also,  and 
gave  great  encouragement  to  it,  his  building  of  the  Salt 
Lake  Theatre  was  a  striking  proof.  He  recognized  the  nat- 
ural desire  for  innocent  amusement,  and  the  old  axiom  "All 
work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy,"  had  its  full  weight 
of  meaning  to  him.  Keep  the  people  in  a  pleasurable  mood, 
th  'ii  they  will  not  be  apt  to  brood  and  ponder  over  tht 
weightier  concerns  of  life. 


4  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

There  may  have  been  a  stroke  of  this  policy  in  Brigham 
Young's  amusement  scheme ;  but  whether  so  or  not  he  must 
be  credited  with  both  wisdom  and  liberality,  for  the  policy 
certainly  lightened  the  cares  and  made  glad  the  hearts  of  the 
people. 

Although  Salt  Lake  City  has  been  the  chief  nursery  of 
these  twin  sources  of  amusement  for  the  Mormon  people,  to 
find  the  cradle  in  which  they  were  fir^st  nursed  into  life,  we 
will  have  to  go  back  to  a  time  and  place  anterior  to  the  set- 
tlement of  Salt  Lake.  Back  in  the  days  of  Nauvoo,  before 
Brigham  Young  was  chief  of  the  Mormon  church,  under 
the  rule  of  its  original  prophet,  Joseph  Smith,  the  Mormon 
people  were  encouraged  in  the  practice  of  dancing  and  going 
to  witness  plays.  Indeed,  the  Mormons  have  always  been 
a  fun-loving  people ;  it  is  recorded  of  their  founder  and 
prophet  that  he  was  so  fond  of  fun  -that  he  would  often 
indulge  in  a  foot  race,  or  pulling  sticks,  or  even  a  wrestling 
match.  He  often  amazed  and  sometimes  shocked  the  sen- 
sibilities of  the  more  staid  and  pious  members  of  his  flock 
by  his  antics.  ; 

Before  the  Mormons  ever  dreamed  of  emigrating  to 
Utah  (or  Mexico,  as  it  was  then),  they  had  what  they  called 
a  "Fun  Hall,"  or  theatre  and  dance  hall  combined,  where 
they  mingled  occasionally  in  the  merry  dance  or  sat  to  wit- 
ness a  play.  Then,  as  later  in  Salt  Lake,  their  prophet  led 
them  through  the  mazy  evolutions  of  the  terpsichorean  num- 
bers and  was  the  most  conspicuous  figure  at  all  their  social 
gatherings. 

While  building  temples  and  propagating  their  new  rev- 
elation to  the  world,  the  Mormons  have  always  found  time  to 
sing  and  dance  and  play  and  have  a  pleasant  social  time,  ex- 
cepting, of  course,  in  their  days  of  sore  trial.  Indeed,  they 
are  an  anomaly  among  religious  sects  in  this  respect,  and 
that  is  what  has  made  Salt  Lake  City  proverbially  a  "great 
show  town." 

Mormonism  during  the  Nauvoo  days  had  numerous 
missionaries  in  the  field  and  many  converts  were  added  to  the 
new  faith.  Among  others  that  were  attracted  to  the  modern 
Mecca  to  look  into  the  claims  -of  the  new  evangel,  was 
Thomas  A.  Lyne,  known  more  familiarly  among  his  theatri- 
cal associates  as  "Tom"  Lyne. 

Lyne,  at  this  time,  1842,  was  an  actor  of  wide  and  fair 
repute,  in  the  very  flush  of  manhood,  about  thirty-five  years 
of  age.  He  had  played  leading  support  to  Edwin  Forrest, 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  5 

the  elder  Booth,  Charlotte  Cnshman,  Ellen  Tree  (before  she 
became  Mrs.  Charles  Kean),  besides  having  starred  in  all 
the  popular  classic  roles.  Lyne  was  the  second  actor  in  the 
United  States  to  essay  the  character  of  Bulwer's  Richelieu- 
Edwin  Forrest  being  the  first. 

The  story  of  "Tom"  Lyne's  conversion  to  the  Mormon 
faith  created  quite  a  sensation  in  theatrical  circles  of  the 
time,  and  illustrates  the  great  proselyting  power  the  elders  of 
the  new  religion  possessed. 

Lyne,  when  he  encountered  Mormonism,  was  a  skeptic, 
having  outgrown  belief  in  all  of  the  creeds.  It  was  in  1841 
that  George  J.  Adams,  a  brother-in-law  of  Lyne's,  turned  up 
suddenly  in  Philadelphia  (Lyne's  home)  where  he  met  the 
popular  actor  and  told  him  the  story  of  his  conversion  to  the 
Mormon  faith.  Adams  had  been  to  Nauvoo,  met  the  prophet 
and  become  one  of  his  most  enthusiastic  disciples.  Adams 
had  been  an  actor,  also,  of  more  than  mediocre  ability,  and 
as  a  preacher  proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  suc- 
cessful expounders  of  the  new  religion.  Elder  Adams  had 
been  sent  as  a  missionary  to  Philadelphia  in  the  hope  that  his 
able  exposition  of  the  new  evangel  would  convert  that  staid 
city  of  brotherly  love  to  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant. 

In  pursuance  of  the  New  Testament  injunction,  the 
Mormon  missionaries  are  sent  out  into  their  fields  of  labor 
without  purse  or  scrip,  so  Elder  Adams,  on  arriving  at  his 
field  of  labor,  lost  no  time  in  hunting  up  his  brother-in-law, 
"Tom"  Lyne,  to  whom  he  related  with  dramatic  fervor  and 
religious  enthusiasm  the  story  of  his  wonderful  conversion, 
his  subsequent  visit  to  Nauvoo,  his  meeting  with  the  young 
''Mohammed  of  the  West,"  for  whom  he  had  conceived  the 
greatest  admiration,  as  well  as  a  powerful  testimony  of  the 
divinity  of  his  mission. 

Adams  was  so  convincing  and  made  such  an  impression 
on  Lyne  that  he  at  once  became  greatly  interested  in  the 
Mormon  prophet  and  his  new  revelation.  This  proved  to  be 
a  great  help  to  Elder  Adams,  who  was  entirely  without  "the 
sinews  of  war"  with  which  to  start  his  great  campaign. 

The  brothers-in-law  put  their  heads  together  in  council 
as  to  how  the  campaign  fund  was  to  be  raised,  and  the  result 
was  that  they  decided  to  rent  a  theatre,  get  a  company  to- 
gether, and  play  "Richard  III"  for  a  week.  Lyne  was  a 
native  of  Philadelphia  and  at  this  time  one  of  its  most  popu- 
lar actors.  It  was  here  that  Adams  had  met  him  a  few  years 
before  and  had  given  him  his  sister  in  marriage. 


6  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

The  theatrical  venture  was  carried  through,  Lyne  play- 
ing Richard  and  Elder  Adams,  Richmond.  The  week's 
business,  after  paying  all  expenses,  left  a  handsome  profit. 
Lyne  generously  donated  his  share  to  the  new  cause  in  which 
he  had  now  grown  so  deeply  interested  and  Elder  Adams 
procured  a  suitable  hall  and  began  his  missionary  labors. 
His  eloquent  exposition  of  the  new  and  strange  religion  won 
many  to  the  faith ;  one  of  the  first  fruits  of  his  labors  being 
the  conversion  of  Thomas  A.  Lyne. 

Such  an  impression  had  Adams's  description  of  the 
Mormon  prophet  and  the  City  of  the  Saints  (Nauvoo)  made 
upon  Lyne  that  he  could  not  rest  satisfied  until  he  went  and 
saw  for  himself.  He  packed  up  his  wardrobe  and  took  the 
road  for  Nauvoo.  With  a  warm  letter  of  introduction  from 
Elder  Adams  to  the  prophet,  it  was  not  long  before  Lyne 
was  thoroughly  ingratiated  in  the  good  graces  of  the  Mor- 
mon people.  He  met  the  prophet  Joseph,  was  enchanted  with 
him,  and  readily  gave  his  adherence  to  the  new  and  strange 
doctrines  which  the  prophet  advanced,  but  whether  with  an 
eye  single  to  his  eternal  salvation  or  with  both  eyes  open  to 
a  lucrative  engagement  "this  deponent  saith  not." 

The  story  runs  that  after  a  long  sojourn  with  the  Saints 
in  Nauvoo,  during  which  he  played  a  round  of  his  favorite 
characters,  supported  by  a  full  Mormon  cast,  he  bade  the 
prophet  and  his  followers  a  sorrowful  farewell  and  returned 
to  his  accustomed  haunts  in  the  vicinity  of  Liberty  Hall. 

During  his  stay  in  Nauvoo,  Mr.  Lyne  played  quite  a 
number  of  classical  plays,  including  "William  Tell,"  "Vir- 
ginius,"  "Damon  and  Pythias,"  "The  Iron  Chest,"  and  "Pi- 
zarro."  In  the  latter  play,  he  had  no  less  a  personage  than 
Brigham  Young  in  the  cast ;  he  was  selected  to  play  the  part 
of  the  Peruvian  high  priest,  and  is  said  to  have  led  the 
singing  in  the  Temple  scene  where  the  Peruvians  offer  up 
sacrifice  and  sing  the  invocation  for  Rolla's  victory.  Brigham 
Young  is  said  to  have  taken  a  genuine  interest  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  high  priest  and  to  have  played  it  with  becoming 
dignity  and  solemnity.  Here  was  an  early  and  unmistaka- 
ble proof  of  Brigham  Young's  love  for  the  drama. 

Mr.  Lyne,  while  relating  this  Nauvoo  incident  in  his  ex- 
perience to  the  writer,  broke  into  a  humorous  vein  and  re- 
marked : 

"I've  always  regretted  having  cast  Brigham  Young  for 
that  part  of  the  high  priest." 

"Why?"  I  inquired,  with  some  surprise. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  7 

With  a  merry  twinkle  in  his  eye  and  a  sly  chuckle  in  his 
voice,  he  replied :  "Why  don't  you  see  John,  he's  been  playing 
the  character  with  great  success  ever  since." 

There  are  still  a  few  survivors  of  the  old  Nauvoo  dra- 
matic company,  who  supported  "Tom"  Lyne,  living  in  Salt 
Lake.  Bishop  Clawson,  one  of  the  first  managers  of  the 
Salt  Lake  theatre,  is  among  them. 

Lyne  played  a  winning  hand  at  Nauvoo.  He  made  a 
great  hit  with  the  prophet,  who  took  such  a  fancy  to  him  that 
he  wanted  to  ordain  him  and  send  him  on  a  mission,  think- 
ing that  Lyne's  eleocutionary  powers  would  make  him  a 
great  preacher.  But  "Tom"  had  not  become  sufficiently  en- 
thused over  the  prophet's  revelations  to  abjure  the  pro- 
fession he  so  dearly  loved,  and  become  a  traveling  elder 
going  about  from  place  to  place  without  purse  or  scrip,  in- 
stead of  a  popular  actor  who  was  in  demand  at  a  good  sized 
salary. 

Lyne  had  made  his  visit  remunerative  and  had  enshrined 
himself  in  the  hearts  of  the  Mormon  people,  as  the  sequel 
will  show :  but  he  drifted  away  from  them  as  unexpectedly 
as  he  had  come.  Having  become  a  convert  to  the  new  re- 
ligion, it  was  confidently  expected  that  he  would  remain 
among  the  Saints  and  be  one  of  them ;  but  he  drifted  away 
from  them  and  the  Mormons  saw  no  more  of  "Tom"  Lyne 
till  he  turned  up  in  Salt  Lake  twenty  years  later,  soon  after 
the  opening  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre. 

Lyne  was  the  first  star  to  tread  its  stage  and  played 
quite  a  number  of  engagements  during  the  years  from  '62  to 
'70.  He  made  money  enough  out  of  his  engagements  at 
the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  to  live  on  for  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  For  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  he  rarely  ap- 
peared in  public  except  to  give  a  reading  occasionally.  With 
his  French  wife,  Madeline,  he  settled  down  and  took  life 
easy,  living  cosily  in  his  own  cottage,  and  in  1891  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-four  Thomas  A.  Lyne  passed  peace- 
fully away,  a  firm  believer  in  a  life  to  come  but  at  utter  var- 
iance with  the  Mormon  creed,  which  he  had  discarded  soon 
after  his  departure  from  Nauvoo. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Thus  far  into  the  bowels  of  the  land 

Have  we  marched  on  without  impediment. 

—Shakespeare. 

When  the  Mormons  came  from  Nauvoo  to  Salt  Lake 
they  brought  with  them  to  this  wilderness  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  love  of  the  drama,  and  as  a  consequence  it 
was  not  long,  only  a  few  years  from  1847  to  1850,  before  they 
began  to  long  for  something  in  the  way  of  a  theatre. 

The  pleasant  recollections  of  the  drama  as  interpreted 
at  Nauvoo  by  Mr.  Lyne  and  his  supporting  cast,  were  still 
fresh  in  their  memories,  and  almost  before  many  of  them 
had  comfortable  houses  to  live  in  they  began  to  yearn  for 
some  dramatic  amusement.  As  a  result  of  this  strong  in- 
clination for  the  play  and  a  still  more  universal  desire  for 
dancing,  it  was  but  a  short  time  before  their  wishes  ma- 
terialized. 

As  early  as  the  fall  of  1850  they  had  formed  a  club  called 
the  Musical  and  Dramatic  Association.  The  name  was  a 
comprehensive  one,  intentionally  so,  for  the  organization  in- 
cluded the  celebrated  "Nauvoo  Brass  Band,"  a  number  of 
whose  members  also  figured  in  the  dramatic  company.  In- 
deed it  was  from  this  musical  organization  that  the  dra- 
matic company  really  sprang. 

The  members  of  this  original  dramatic  company  were 
John  Kay,  Hyrum  B.  Clawson,  Philip  Margetts,  Horace  K. 
Whitney,  Robert  Campbell,  R.  T.  Burton,  George  B.  Grant, 
Edmond  Ellsworth,  Henry  Margetts,  Edward  Martin,  Wil- 
liam Cutler,  William  Clayton,  Miss  (Drum,  Miss  Margaret 
Judd,  and  Miss  Mary  Badlam.  Miss  Badlam,  in  addition  to 
playing  parts,  was  very  popular  as  a  dancer  and  gave  her 
dancing  specialties  between  the  acts,  making  something  like 
our  up-to-date  continuous  performance. 

The  first  public  dramatic  performances  were  given  in  the 
"Bowery"  (a  very  reminiscent  name  for  a  New  York  theatre 
goer  of  that  day).  "The  Bowery"  in  this  case  was  a  sum- 
mer place  of  worship  which  stood  on  the  Temple  Block 
near  where  the  big  Tabernacle  now  stands.  In  this  place  of 
worship  as  early  as  the  year  1850,  with  the  aid  of  a  little 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  9 

home-made  scenery  and  a  little  crude  furniture,  were  the 
first  plays  presented  to  a  Salt  Lake  audience. 

The  'first  bill  consisted  of  the  old  serio-comic  drama, 
"Robert  Macaire,  or  the  Two  Murderers,"  dancing  by  Miss 
Badlam,  and  the  farce  of  the  "Dead  Shot.'' 

Judging  by  their  titles,  these  .plays  were  rather  a  grue- 
some selection  to  play  in  a  church.  As  it  is  a  matter  of 
historic  interest  the  cast  so  far  as  procurable  is  appended 
of  "Robert  Macaire :" 

Robert  Macaire   John  Kay 

Jacque  Stropp    H.   B.  Clawson 

Pierre    Philip   Margetts 

Waiter   Robert  Campbell 

Clementina Margaret  Judd 

Celeste Miss  Orum 

Several  other  plays  were  given  during  this  first  dra- 
matic season  and  were  creditably  performed,  affording  pleas- 
ure both  to  the  audiences  and  actors  ;  the  only  remuneration 
the  actors  received,  by  the  way,  for  it  must  be  remarked 
that  these  first  dramatic  efforts  were  entirely  voluntary  on 
the  part  of  the  company. 

The  orchestra  which  played  in  connection  with  this 
first  dramatic  company  deserves  to  be  made  a  matter  of  rec- 
ord quite  as  much  as  the  company  itself,  for  it  was  also 
drawn  from  the  ranks  of  the  historic  "Nauvoo  Brass  Band." 

William  Pitt,  the  captain  of  the  band,  was  the  leader 
of  the  orchestra.  He  could  "play  the  fiddle  like  an  angel,' 
handling  the  bow  with  his  left  hand  at  that.  The  associate 
players  of  Captain  Pitt  were  William  Clayton,  James 
Smithers,  Jacob  Hutchinson,  David  Smith,  and  George 
Warde.  The  Musical  and  Dramatic  Association  played  in 
the  Bowery  occasionally  from  1850  to  1852. 

The  first  amusement  hall  built  in  Salt  Lake,  which 
was  used  chiefly  for  dancing,  was  erected  at  the  Warm 
Springs  in  the  year  1850.  It  was  a  good  sized  adobe  building 
and  served  as  a  social  hall  until  1852,  when  the  Social  Hall 
proper  was  completed.  It  was  built  at  this  out  of  the  way 
place  so  as  to  combine  the  use  of  the  Warm  Springs  for 
bathing  with  the  social  meetings  held  there.  But  it  proved 
to  be  too  difficult  to  get  to,  when  the  nights  were  dark  and 
the  roads  were  bad,  so  Brigham  Young  had  the  Social  Hall 
built  which  was  quite  central  and  the  Warm  Springs  music 


10         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

hall  was  converted  into  a  roadside  tavern  and  was  run  by 
Jesse  C.  Little  for  a  time. 

The  first  string  band  to  furnish  music  for  dances 
played  at  this  hall  and  was  composed  of  Hopkins  C.  (famil- 
iarly known  as  "Hop")  Fender,  Jesse  Earl  and  Jake  Hutch- 
inson.  These  gentlemen  deserve  to  be  remembered  in  the 
musical  history  of  Salt  Lake  City  as  the  first  to  furnish  the 
inspiring  strains  to  which  the  worthy  pioneers  danced. 

In  the  fall  of.  1852,  the  Musical  and  Dramatic  Associa- 
tion was  reorganized  and  renamed  the  "Deseret  Dramatic 
Association."  In  this  year  the  historic  Social  Hall  was 
erected,  and  with  a  view  to  opening  it  with  becoming  bril- 
liancy the  original  company  was  greatly  added  to,  for  the 
drama  had  become  a  popular  amusement  with  the  Saints,  and 
many  of  the  chiefs  of  the  church,  including  President 
Young,  held  honorary  membership  in  the  "D.  D.  A." 

The  Social  Hall,  which  is  still  standing  and  in  well  pre- 
served condition,  is  one  of  the  old  landmarks  that  are  fast 
disappearing.  It.  is  a  comparatively  small  structure  about 
40x80  feet.  It  was  considered  in  its  time  a  fine  amusement 
hall  but  has  long  since  become  dwarfed  by  the  greater  build- 
ings which  have  gone  up  around  it.  It  has  a  stage  twenty 
feet  deep,  two  dressing  rooms  under  the  stage,  an  ample 
basement  under  the  hall  for  banqueting  purposes.  This  aud- 
itorium is  about  40x60  feet  with  a  level  floor  for  dancing — 
for  the  amusement  of  the  play  and  dancing  were  fairly  and 
considerately  alternated  by  the  managers  of  the  D.  D.  A. 

In  the  early  winter  of  1852  this  hall  was  opened  with  a 
dance  to  which  the  elect  were  invited,  and  it  was  a  great 
crush.  The  first  social  gathering  in  the  new  hall  formed  a 
sort  of  punctuation  mark  in  the  social  caste  among  tne 
Saints. 

Of  course,  the  hall  being  small,  the  invitations  had  to 
be  limited  and  many  there  were  who  felt  slighted  because 
they  were  not  among  the  invited.  Envy  on  the  one  hand  and 
a  supercilious  superiority  on  the  other  gave  birth  to  a  feel- 
ing of  caste  which  was  altogether  in  bad  taste  among  pro- 
fessing Saints. 

The  great  event  of  this  season  in  the  amusement  line 
was  the  dramatic  opening.  Local  artists  had  been  employed 
for  some  time  and  had  stocked  the  stage  with  excellent 
scenery.  Bulwer's  classic  play  "The  Lady  of  Lyons"  was 
selected  for  the  opening  bill.  The  company  had  been  so 
strengthened  that  the  members  could  cast  any  of  the  great 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  11 

plays.  To  the  original  company  had  been  added  besides 
a  long-  list  of  honorary  members,  the  following  named 
active  male  members :  James  Ferguson,  Bernard  Snow, 
David  Candland  (stage  manager),  John  T.  Caine,  David 
McKenzie,  Joseph  Simons  and  Henry  Maiben ;  to  the  female 
contingent  had  been  added  Mrs.  Cyrus  Wheelock,  Mrs. 
Henry  Tuckett,  Mrs.  Joseph  Bull,  Mrs.  John  Hyde,  Mrs. 
Sarah  Cook.  It  will  be  observed  that  they  were  all  married 
women.  This  is  a  very  noticeable  feature,  as  it  is  so  un- 
usual in  a  dramatic  company  nowadays,  either  amateur  or 
professional.  The  explanation  of  it,  however,  is  simple 
enough.  At  that  time  there  were  few  if  any  unmarried  wo- 
men in  Utah  that  had  arrived  at  the  marriageable  age.  The 
only  three  women  whose  names  appear  in  the  original  com- 
pany were  unmarried,  Miss  Judd,  Miss  Orum  and  Miss 
Badlam,  which  seems  exceptional  and  they  now  seem  to  have 
all  disappeared,  or  they  are  overshadowed  by  the  married 
women,  or  perhaps  they  appear  in  the  reorganized  com- 
pany under  a  new  name  with  Mrs.  attached. 

The  Social  Hall  theatrical  opening  was  an  event  in  the 
history  of  Utah.  It  may  be  truly  said  that  it  marked  an 
epoch  in  the  development  of  civilization  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain region  and  the  growth  of  the  drama  in  the  far  West. 
Even  San  Francisco  had  not  up  to  this  time  made  any  such 
ambitious  attempt  in  the  dramatic  line. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  procure  a  program  of  this  open- 
ing performance  but  the  cast  of  the  principal  characters  was 
as  follows : 

Claud  Melnotte James  Ferguson 

Monsieur  Beauseant David  Candland 

Monsieur  Glavis   John  T.  Caine 

Col.  Damas John  D.  T.  McAllister 

Mons.  Deschapples Horace  K.  Whitney 

Landlord Philip  Margetts 

Pauline  Deschapples   Mrs.  Wheelock 

Madame  Deschapples   Mrs.  M.  G.  Clawson 

Widow  Melnotte Mrs.  Sarah  Cook 

The  play  was  a  pronounced  success  and  the  players  cov- 
ered themselves  with  glory.  A  number  of  plays  were  now 
put  on  in  rapid  succession,  for  the  D.  D.  A.  had  caught  the 
true  dramatic  fire,  and  the  people  were  hungry  for  the 
play.  In  the  great  plays,  a  number  of  which  were  essayed, 
the  characters  were  strongly  filled. 


12         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Bernard  Snow,  who  had  played  with  the  elder  Booth 
in  California,  which  gave  him  a  brief  professional  experi- 
ence, was  easily  in  the  lead  of  all  the  Mormon  actors.  He 
played  an  Othello  that  would  have  done  credit  to  Shakes- 
speare  anywhere,  while  Ferguson  as  lago  was  scarcely  less 
convincing.  In  "Damon  and  Pythias"  also  these  players 
shone  with  more  than  ordinary  brilliancy.  Snow's  Damon 
was  pronounced  a  work  of  art,  while  Ferguson  looked  and 
acted  Pythias  to  the  admiration  of  all  who  witnessed  it. 
Mrs.  Wheelock  as  Calanthe  and  Mrs.  Tuckett  as  Hermion 
made  up  a  quartet  of  players  that  would  have  graced  any 
stage  in  the  country. 

"Virginius"  was  also  played  here  with  Snow  in  the  title 
role,  a  favorite  with  him.  When  Lyne  came  ten  years  later 
and  played  these  same  characters  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre, 
many  of  the  old  frequenters  of  the  Social  Hall  ranked  Ber- 
nard Snow  as  Lyne's  equal  and  they  had  to  be  brought  to 
play  together  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  to  gratify  the  many 
admirers  of  both. 

"Pizarro"  was  the  play  chosen  for  this  event  and  it 
served  to  pack  the  theatre.  Lyne  appeared  as  Pizarro  for 
the  occasion  although  Rolla  was  his  favorite  part.  This 
gave  Snow  the  advantage  as  Rolla  is  the  star  part.  It 
proved  a  great  hit  both  financially  and  artistically. 

The  Social  Hall  orchestra  was  a  feature  at  all  the  dra- 
matic performances,  and  came  in  for  its  due  share  of  praise 
and  admiration.  It  was  under  the  direction  of  Domonico 
Ballo,  who  had  formerly  been  a  band  master  at  West  Point. 
He  was  a  fine  composer  and  arranger,  and  one  of  the  best 
clarinet  players  ever  heard.  Professor  Ballo  was  a  graduate 
of  the  Conservatory  of  Music  at  Milan.  He  served  several 
years  as  band  master  at  West  Point.  He  drifted  into  Utah 
at  an  early  day  and  cast  his  lot  with  the  Mormons.  He  or- 
ganized a  fine  brass  band  here  and  built  a  fine  dance  hall 
which  was  known  as  "Ballo's  Music  Hall." 

Salt  Lake  City  has  from  a  very  early  period  in  its 
history  enjoyed  an  enviable  reputation  in  a  musical  way. 
Its- first  musical  organization  as  already  mentioned  was  the 
Nauvoo  Brass  Band,  organized  originally  in  Nauvoo  in  con- 
nection with  the  Mormon  militia  known  as  the  "Nauvoo 
Legion,"  of  which  Joseph  Smith  held  the  distinguished  office 
of  Lieutenant  General.  The  exodus  from  Nauvoo  and  the 
formation  soon  afterwards  of  the  "Mormon  Battalion"  de- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         13 

moralized  to  a  great  degree  both  the  legion  and  the  band. 
Both  organizations,  however,  were  reconstructed  soon  after 
the  settlement  of  Utah,  and  each  played  a  conspicuous  part 
in  its  early  history. 

At  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Temple  as  early  as  1853,  the  Nauvoo  Brass  Band  and  Bal- 
lo's  Brass  Band  were  consolidated  for  this  occasion  and  in- 
creased to  sixty-five  players  under  the  leadership  of  Pro- 
fessor Ballo,  who  gave  the  people  of  Salt  Lake  a  musical 
treat  that  would  have  been  a  credit  to  any  metropolitan 
city.  Ballo  was  a  thorough  and  accomplished  musician  and 
his  masterly  work  at  such  an  early  period  had  much  to  do 
with  developing  Salt  Lake's  musical  talent. 

From  1852  to  1857  tne  Social  Hall  continued  to  be  the 
principal  place  of  amusement  for  the  people  of  Salt  Lake 
City,  as  well  as  those  who  came  in  from  various  parts  of  the 
Territory.  Those  living  at  a  distance  and  visiting  the  city 
either  on  business  or  pleasure  (which  were  generally  com- 
bined) deemed  themselves  extremely  fortunate  if  there 
chanced  to  be  a  play  "on  the  boards"  during  their  brief  so- 
journ in  the  city. 

The  fame  of  the  Social  Hall  and  its  talented  company 
of  players,  dramatic  and  musical,  had  spread  abroad  in  the 
land  and  many  of  the  smaller  towns  began  to  emulate  Salt 
Lake  City  and  organized  dramatic  clubs. 

In  the  year  1857  amusements  as  well  as  business  of 
all  kinds  received  a  sudden  and  severe  shock  from  which  it 
took  a  year  or  more  to  recover.  In  this  year  a  rupture  oc- 
curred between  the  Mormon  chiefs  and  the  United  States 
Judges,  which  resulted  in  President  Buchanan  sending  Al- 
bert Sidney  Johnson  to  Utah  with  an  army  to  crush  the 
incipient  rebellion.  The  heroes  of  the  Social  Hall  stage  now 
were  cast  to  play  more  serious  parts.  The  stage  was  now  to 
be  the  tented  field,  their  music,  the  roll  of  the  drum  and  the 
ear-piercing  fife. 

"Jim"  Ferguson,  one  of  the  leading  actors,  was  Adju- 
tant General  of  the  "Nauvoo  Legion,"  as  the  Territorial  mil- 
itia was  called,  and  all  the  other  stage  heroes  were  enrolled 
under  its  banners.  The  "Legion"  was  sent  out  into  the 
mountains  to  check  the  advance  of  the  invading  army.  Not 
only  did  all  amusement  and  business  generally  come  to  a 
sudden  stop,  but  so  serious  was  the  situation  that  a  general 
exodus  of  the  people  to  the  south  was  ordered  by  the  church 
authorities  and  Salt  Lake  City  was  abandoned. 


14  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Meeting  houses,  theatre,  stores  and  nearly  all  the  dwell- 
ings in  the  city  were  vacated,  and  the  intention  was  to  burn 
the  city  rather  than  this  "hell  born"  army  should  occupy  and 
pollute  it. 

No  occasion  for  carrying  into  effect  this  insane  reso- 
lution transpired,  for  which  the  people  have  ever  since  been 
thankful.  Soon  after  its  adoption  a  better  understanding 
was  reached  between  the  refractory  Saints  and  Uncle  Sam's 
government,  and  the  people  gradually  came  back  to  their 
homes  in  the  city,  glad  indeed  that  the  sacrificial  torch  had 
not  been  applied  to  them. 

"The  invading  army"  had  passed  peacefully  through 
the  city  and  made  its  encampment  forty  miles  away.  Things 
began  to  resume  their  normal  condition,  but  the  winter  of 
1857-8  was  a  blank  in  the  Mormon  amusement  field. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  15 


CHAPTER  III. 

Now  is  the  winter  of  our  discontent 

Made  glorious  summer  by  this  son  of  York, 

And  all  the  clouds  that  lowered  upon  our  house, 

In  the  deep  bosom  of  the  ocean  buried ; 

Now  are  our  brows  bound  with  victorious  wreaths, 

Our  bruised  arms  hung  up  for  monuments, 

Our  stern  alarums  are  changed  to  merry-meetings 

And  our  dreadful  marches  to  delighted  measures. 

—Richard  III. 

The  Mormon  war  cloud  that  lowered  so  portentously 
during  the  winter  of  1857-8  had  been  dispelled  without 
bloodshed,  and  peace  once  more  brooded  over  the  land.  The 
soldiers  of  the  "Nauvoo  Legion"  had  "hung  up  their  un- 
bruised  arms  for  monuments"  and  resumed  their  old  avoca- 
tions, and  the  wheels  of  trade,  "the  calm  health  of  nations," 
were"  once  again  running  in  their  accustomed  grooves. 

The  people  had  set  to  work  with  redoubled  energy  to 
make  up  for  the  losses  "the  war"  had  entailed  upon  them, 
so  that  they  had  little  time  or  inclination  for  amusement. 
The  advent  of  Johnson's  army  into  Utah,  although  en- 
camped forty  miles  from  the  city,  had  its  effect;  it  brought 
in  its  wake,  as  an  army  always  does,  a  lot  of  camp  followers, 
—hangers-on — a  contingent  that  was  thrown  largely  into  Salt 
Lake,  and  not  a  desirable  one.  This  made  the  Mormon  peo- 
ple wary  and  suspicious,  and  inclined  them  more  than  ever 
to  isolate  themselves  from  strangers. 

Notwithstanding  this  condition  of  affairs,  in  the  winter 
of  '59  they  began  to  resume  their  usual  amusements,  and  a 
number  of  plays  were  given  that  winter  in  the  Social  Hall. 

By  this  time  the  "army"  having  no  active  service,  began 
to  feel  the  need  of  some  amusement,  and  some  of  the  sol- 
diers improvised  a  theatre  in  the  camp. 

Sergt.  R.  C.  White,  better  known  later  among  Pacific 
coast  theatricals  as  "Dick"  White,  was  the  leading  spirit  in 
this  affair.  White  was  a  scholar  as  well  as  a  soldier ;  more- 
over, he  had  the  poetic  and  dramatic  instinct  in  him,  and  in 
common  with  all  living  creatures,  he  felt  that  he  must  exer- 
cise his  faculties.  So  in  order  to  give  vent  to  his  pent  up 
love  of  the  drama,  he  organized  a  dramatic  company  among 


16         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

the  soldiers  of  Camp  Floyd.  The  Sergeant,  or  "Dick"  as 
he  was  called,  was  not  only  a  clever  amateur  actor  but  a 
poet,  and  something  of  an  artist  as  well.  By  his  sinl!  in 
this  latter  line  he  soon  had  the  necessary  scenery  painted 
for  the  Camp  theatre.  Pigments  were  scarce  in  the  camp 
and  even  in  Salt  Lake  at  that  time,  but  White  was  re- 
sourceful, and  equal  to  every  emergency,  so  he  made  levy  on 
the  quartermaster's  department  for  liberal  supplies  of  mus- 
tard, red  pepper,  ox  blood,  and  other  strange  materials  with 
which  to  get  in  his  color  effects. 

The  "Camp  Floyd  Theatre''  as  it  wras  called,  was  not  a 
stupendous  structure,  only  large  enough  to  accommodate 
about  two  hundred  persons,  and  the  stage  in  proportion  to  the 
auditorium.  It  was  built  of  rough  pine  boards  and  canvas — 
principally  canvas — but  answered  all  the  requirements  of  a 
theatre  for  the  amusement  of  the  camp. 

White  had  but  little  trouble  in  organizing  his  corps 
dramatique,  so  far  as  men  were  concerned,  but  the  temale 
contingent  gave  him  much  concern  and  considerable  trouble 
to  secure.  Women  in  the  camp  were  scarce,  and  female 
talent  was  at  a  premium.  There  were  a  few  officers  whose 
wives  were  with  them  and  some  "hired  help"  of  the  female 
persuasion,  but  none  of  the  women  of  the  camp  had  any  ex- 
perience in  theatricals.  Several  were  willing,  and  even  eager 
to  try ;  so  White  made  a  selection  and  cast  a  play  and  put 
it  in  rehearsal,  but  "woe  is  me !"  the  women  were  all  such 
tyros  that  he  was  almost  in  despair,  until  he  suddenly  con- 
ceived the  project  of  engaging  one  of  the  Social  Hall  ac- 
tresses to  play  the  leading  female  character ;  if  he  could  do 
that,  then,  he  reasonably  argued  that  he  could  get  along, 
but  could  a  Mormon  actress  be  induced  to  come  to  Camp 
Floyd? 

Here  was  a  dilemma ;  but  the  bold  Richard  perhaps 
thought  of  the  lines  of  his  renowned  namesake,  Richard 
Plantagenet : 

"Dangers  retreat  when  boldly  they're  confronted, 
And  dull  delay  leads  impotence  and  fear," 

so  he  took  courage.  He  opened  up  a  correspondence  with 
Mrs.  Tuckett  of  Social  Hall  fame.  White  was  an  accom- 
plished writer,  and  poetical,  and  there  is  no  doubt  he  could 
write  a  winning  letter.  We  have  no  knowledge  of  what  in- 
ducements he  offered,  so  can  only  surmise  that  a  liberal  sal- 
ary was  the  temptation  held  out  to  her.  Suffice  it  to  say 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         17 

that  Mrs.  Tuckett  accepted  the  offer  and  joined  the  Camp 
Floyd  Theatre  Company,  thus  making  a  noticeable  weaken- 
ing of  the  Social  Hall  force,  and  creating  a  commotion 
among  her  fellow  players  in  Salt  Lake,  and  the  people  gen- 
erally, as  she  went  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  her  hus- 
band and  friends  and  the  church  authorities.  It  was  re- 
garded not  only  as  an  unwise  step  for  Mrs.  Tuckett  to  take, 
but  a  discreditable  one. 

It  was  a  reproach  to  the  Saints  to  have  one  of  their 
number  go  and  mingle  with  the  ungodly  soldiers  who  had 
come  out  here  to  destroy  them.  Mrs.  Tuckett  was  looked 
upon  from  the  moment  of  her  departure  as  a  lost  sheep  from 
the  fold.  These  apprehensions  were  not  unfounded,  for 
Mrs.  Tuckett,  whether  wearied  of  her  Mormon  environment, 
or  led  away  by  the  unusual  attentions  shown  her  by  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  camp  (with  whom  her  acting  soon 
made  her  a  great  favorite),  lost  any  former  love  she  may 
have  had  for  Salt  Lake,  and  sundered  all  social  and  family 
ties  there. 

"Dick"  White,  poet,  actor,  artist,  achieved  another  con- 
quest ;  not  only  had  he  succeeded  in  getting  Mrs.  Tuckett 
away  from  the  Social  Hall  company,  but  later  on  he  won 
the  affections  of  the  Mormon  actress  and  took  her  complete- 
ly away  from  her  family,  friends  and  church.  In  some 
way  White  severed  his  connection  with  the  army  before 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War  and  had  gone  to  California 
"taking  the  fair  Desdemona  with  him."  He  married  her  and 
they  lived  together  in  Folsom,  California ;  only  a  few  years, 
however ;  Mrs.  Tuckett-White  died  there  in  '63. 

Mrs.  Tuckett,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mercy  West- 
wood,  was  of  English  birth,  came  to  Utah  in  the  early  '508 
where  she  soon  afterward  married  as  a  polygamous  wife. 
The  Westwood  family  had  a  strong  predilection  for  the 
stage;  three  of  her  brothers,  Richard,  Phillip  and  Joseph 
Westwood,  figured  conspicuously  a  little  later  on  in  the 
Springville  Dramatic  company.  Her  desertion  from  the 
ranks  of  the  Social  Hall  company  had  created  a  vacancy 
they  found  it  difficult  to  fill.  She  had  been  playing  the 
leading  roles,  filling  the  place  of  Mrs.  Wheelock  who  also 
became  disaffected  and  went  to  California  in  '57  with  a  num- 
ber of  others,  under  protection  of  Col.  Steptoe's  command. 

What  particular  reason  Mrs.  Wheelock  had  for  with- 
drawing from  the  Mormon  people,  we  do  not  know.  She 
settled  in  Sacramento  where  after  a  time  she  became  Mrs. 


18        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Rattenbury,  and  has  never  returned  except  for  a  brief  visit 
and  this  quite  recently. 

Mrs.  Tuckett  was  the  wife  of  Henry  Tuckett  who  is  still 
living  in  Salt  Lake;  and  had  four  children  by  him  at  the 
time  she  left,  and  in  abandoning  husband  and  children  to 
share  the  fortunes  of  the  soldier  actor  Dick  White,  she 
subjected  herself  to  a  vast  amount  of  severe  and  apparently 
just  criticism.  There  is  little  known  of  her  life  after  she 
left  Utah  even  by  her  relatives;  she  probably  regretted  the 
step  she  had  taken  when  too  late. 

The  Mormons  never  forgave  White  for  taking  Mrs. 
Tuckett  from  them.  He  visited  Salt  Lake  about  four  years 
after  the  death  of  his  Mormon  wife,  in  the  dramatic  company 
of  John  S.  Langrishe,  who  had  Mr.  C.  W.  Couldock  with 
him  and  was  traveling  by  stage  overland  to  the  gold  mining 
towns  of  Montana;  Virginia  City  of  vigilante  fame  being 
their  objective  point. 

The  Langrishe-Couldock  company  opened  in  the  Salt 
Lake  Theatre,  August  the  first,  1867,  in  the  "Chimney  Cor- 
ner" with  Couldock  in  his  favorite  character  of  Peter  Pro- 
bity. R.  C.  White  was  the  Solomon  Probity  of  the  cast. 
White  was  apprehensive  of  trouble  if  he  should  be  discov- 
ered by  the  friends  of  Mrs.  Tuckett,  who  regarded  her  pe- 
culiar "taking  off"  almost  in  the  sense  of  an  abduction.  Con- 
spicuous among  Mrs.  Tuckett's  friends  were  the  managers 
of  the  theatre,  H.  B.  Clawson  and  John  T.  Caine ;  so  White 
discreetly  kept  himself  secluded  during  the  day  as  much  as 
possible,  and  only  put  in  an  appearance  at  the  theatre  when 
it  was  time  to  dress  for  the  play. 

White  was  not  personally  known  to  the  managers,  or  any 
of  the  employees  about  the  theatre.  He  had  been  little  in 
Salt  Lake  during  the  army's  occupation  of  Camp  Floyd  and 
consequently  was  scarcely  known.  Trusting  to  these  cir- 
cumstances he  hoped  to  escape  recognition,  and  avoid  the 
storm  of  abuse  he  felt  sure  would  be  showered  on  his  guilty 
head ;  but  unfortunately  his  name  was  on  the  program  and 
although  a  common  name  and  one  that  might  easily  escape 
especial  notice,  White  was  by  no  means  a  common  man  and 
his  performance  of  Solomon  attracted  special  attention  to 
him. 

Some  man  in  the  audience  who  had  met  him  at  Camp 
Floyd  recognized  him,  and  quietly  informed  the  managers 
who  he  was.  The  whisper  spread  about  with  amazing 
rapidity  and  he  began  to  be  pointed  out  as  the  "reprobate 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         19 

and  unscrupulous  scoundrel"  who  had  enticed  Mrs.  Tuck- 
ett  away  from  home  and  friends  and  people. 

To  make  sure  that  this  was  the  veritable  White,  the 
manager  made  some  inquiries  regarding  him  of  Jack  Lan- 
grishe,  his  manager.  This  was  sufficient  to  arouse  the  curi- 
osity of  the  company  with  regard  to  White's  previous  ex- 
perience in  Utah.  White  did  not  make  a  second  appearance 
at  the  theatre.  He  had  caught  something  of  the  buzz  that 
was  in  the  air  about  him,  and  quietly  dropped  out  of  the 
Langrishe  company  for  the  remainder  of  its  Salt  Lake  en- 
gagement. 

The  Langrishes  remained  two  weeks  and  then  moved 
on  to  Montana.  White  had  not  been  entirely  idle  in  the  in- 
terim. He  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  second  Salt  Lake 
woman,  whom  he  prevailed  upon  to  join  him  soon  after  his 
departure,  and  they  were  married  shortly  after;  the  woman 
casting  in  her  fortune  with  the  Langrishe  troupe  and  doing 
such  parts  as  they  thought  fit  to  cast  her  in. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  eventually  drifted  into  Portland, 
Oregon,  and  made  that  their  home  for  many  years.  It  was 
there  the  writer  made  their  acquaintance  some  fifteen  years 
later  when  he  went  to  play  leads  for  John  Maguire  at  the 
New  Market  Theatre.  They  appeared  to  be  living  har- 
moniously and  had  four  lovely  children,  two  boys  and  two 
girls,  the  eldest  about  twelve  years  of  age  and  a  promising 
young  actress.  White  was  then  the  editor  of  the  "Bee,"  an 
afternoon  paper,  and  played  on  occasions  in  Maguire's 
Stock  company. 

Some  years  later  White  with  his  family  removed  to  San 
Francisco,  where  he  became  the  stage  manager  of  the  Ti- 
voli.  It  was  during  his  incumbency  of  this  position  that  he 
made  the  first  dramatization  of  Rider  Haggard's  "She,"  and 
gave  it  its  first  production  on  the  stage,  which  proved  to  be 
a  great  success  and  started  numerous  other  companies  to 
play  it. 

White  has  now  "fallen  into  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf" 
and  for  the  last  dozen  years  has  been  affectionately  called 
by  the  profession  "Daddy  White." 


20  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Notwithstanding  that  during  the  winter  of  1859-60  a 
number  of  dramatic  performances  were  given  in  the  Social 
Hall,  they  were  nearly,  if  not  all,  revivals  of  plays  that  had 
been  performed  there  previous  seasons.  Interest  had  de- 
clined from  some  cause  or  other.  It  was  probably  attribu- 
table in  some  measure  to  the  departure  of  first  Mrs.  Wheel- 
ock  and  then  of  Mrs.  Tuckett,  the  two  leading  actresses  of 
the  company ;  and  then  Jim  Ferguson,  one  of  the  leading 
actors,  was  now  engrossed  in  the  publication  of  The  Moun- 
taineer, a  weekly  paper  he  had  started  in  connection  with 
Seth  M.  Blair  and  Hosea  Stout,  and  for  which  he  wrote 
most  of  the  editorials,  so  that  he  had  little  if  any  time  to 
devote  to  the  playhouse.  Bernard  Snow,  too,  was  absent 
from  the  company  that  winter  and  as  a  consequence  plays  of 
a  lighter  character  were  selected  that  did  not  require  Snow 
and  Ferguson. 

"The  Colder  Farmer,"  "Luke  the  Laborer,"  "Still 
Waters  Run  Deep,"  "All  That  Glitters  Is  Not  Gold,"  were 
the  principal  plays  given.  During  the  following  winter, 
1 860-61,  there  was  nothing  doing  in  the  dramatic  line  in 
the  Social  Hall.  One  reason  for  this  was  that  a  new  company 
had  arisen,  which,  if  not  exactly  a  rival,  was  a  strong  com- 
petitor for  public  favor.  Some  of  its  principal  members  be- 
longed to  the  Deseret  Dramatic  Association,  and  had  been 
conspicuous  in  the  ranks  of  its  performers. 

The  new  company  was  called  the  Mechanics'  Dramatic 
Association,  and  was  headed  by  the  favorite  Social  Hall 
comedian,  Phil  JVlargetts,  who  was  president  and  manager 
of  the  new  organization.  The  members  of  this  new  company 
were  Phil  Margetts,  Harry  Bowring,  Henry  McEwan,  James 
A.  Thompson,  Joe  Barker,  John  B.  Kelly,  John  Chambers, 
Joseph  Bull,  Pat  Lynch,  William  Wright,  Bill  Poulter,  Wil- 
liam Price,  Mrs.  Marion  Bowring,  Mrs.  Bull,  Mrs.  McEwan, 
Elizabeth  Tullidge  and  Ellen  Bowring.  Harry  Bowring 
had  in  course  of  construction  a  new  dwelling  house ;  it  was 
covered  and  the  floors  laid,  but  no  finishing  or  plastering  had 
been  done,  no  partition  walls  had  been  put  in,  so  that  the 
entire  lower  story  was  one  room,  not  more  than  18x40  feet 
in  dimensions,  about  one-third  the  size  of  the  Social  Hall. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         21 

The  stage  occupied  about  one-third  of  the  same,  leaving 
an  audience  chamber  of  about  18x25  feet,  not  large  enough, 
as  it  proved,  to  accommodate  the  numbers  that  were  anxious 
to  witness  the  new  performances.  For  dressing  rooms,  they 
had  the  house  at  the  back,  in  which  Mr.  Bowring  and  family 
resided,  and  which  communicated  with  the  stage  by  a  door- 
way in  the  new  structure.  The  scenery  and  drop  curtain, 
which  was  necessarily  of  small  dimensions,  was  painted  by 
the  sterling  and  versatile  artist,  William  P.  Morris.  The 
auditorium  was  seated  a  la  circus,  with  board  seats  rising 
one  above  the  other,  with  a  row  of  chairs  in  front  for  the 
distinguished  guests  and  patrons. 

Such  was  "Bowring's  Theatre,"  as  it  was  called. 
Whether  the  managers  christened  it  that,  or  the  name  was 
given  it  by  the  patrons  and  guests,  wre  do  not  pretend  to 
know,  nor  does  it  matter ;  but  this  fact  may  be  mentioned  in 
relation  to  it,  that  it  was  first  place  in  Salt  Lake  City 
to  be  called  a  theatre. 

The  Bowery  being  a  place  of  worship  (although  the 
name  was  strongly  suggestive  of  the  New  York  Bowery  the- 
atre), could  not  consistently  be  called  a  theatre  and  the  So- 
cial Hall  embracing  all  the  social  features — plays,  dances 
and  banquets — never  came  to  be  called  a  theatre,  Social 
Hall  fully  covering  its  functions,  so  that  the  Bowring  was 
really  the  first  place  to  be  known  distinctively  as  a  theatre. 
Although  the  theatre  was  so  very  small  the  company  did  not 
appear  to  be  circumscribed  in  their  histrionic  efforts  by  any 
mere  limitations  of  space  or  stage  appurtenances,  as  the  fol- 
lowing list  of  plays  will  show : 

"The  Honeymoon,"  "The  Gamester,"  "Luke  the  La- 
borer," and  "Othello,"  and  the  farces  of  "Betsy  Baker"  and 
"Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peter  White." 

In  the  dramas,  Mr.  Margetts,  who  was  recognized  as 
the  comedian  par  excellence,  chose  to  assume  the  tragic 
mask  and  appeared  in  the  leading  roles,  leaving  the  principal 
comic  parts  to  his  friend  and  colleague  Harry  Bowring.  It 
was  somewhat  of  a  surprise  to  "Phil  s"  friends  and  admirers 
who  knew  his  qualifications  for  comedy,  to  see  him  in  these 
tragic  characters,  but  he  is  said  to  have  given  everybody  a 
pleasant  surprise  in  them  and  Harry  Bowring  carried  the 
comedy  roles  so  successfully  as  to  divide  the  honors  with 
"Phil."  Mrs.  Bowring,  who  played  the  "lady  leads,"  also 
distinguished  herself  to  such  a  degree  that  she  took  a  prom- 
inent place  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  soon  after  its  opening. 


22  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

It  was  during  the  performance  of  "Betsy  Baker"  in 
this  place  that  "Jimmy"  Thompson,  who  was  playing  the 
part  of  Mr.  Crommie,  won  such  distinction  in  that  character 
that  the  name  of  "Crommie"  has  attached  to  him  among  his 
acquaintances  ever  since.  Harry  McEwan,  Joe  Barker,  Bil- 
lie  Wright,  Bill  Poulter  and  dear  old  John  Kelly  and  Mrs. 
Bull  and  Mrs.  McEwan  all  achieved  some  celebrity  in  con- 
nection with  the  little  playhouse — "Bowring's  Theatre." 

Manager  Margetts  waited  one  day  on  President  Brig- 
ham  Young  and  invited  him,  with  his  family,  to  see  their 
play.  The  President  of  course  had  heard  of  the  new  theatre, 
(what  was  there  he  didn't  hear  of?)  but  affected  some  sur- 
prise that  Phil  and  his  associates  should  have  started  what 
might  be  considered  a  rival  to  the  D.  D.  A. 

"When  do  you  play  ?"  inquired  the  President. 

"We  have  a  play  tonight,"  answered  Phil ;  "Luke  the 
Laborer,"  but  we  could  not  accommodate  your  family  to- 
night, President  Young,  as  the  seats  are  mostly  engaged,  but 
we  would  be  pleased  to  reserve  the  house  for  yourself  and 
family  for  our  next  play,  "The  Honeymoon,"  which  will  be 
on  Friday  night." 

"Well,"  says  Brigham,  "I  would  like  to  see  the  play  to- 
night. Why  can't  Heber  (meaning  Heber  C.  Kimball,  his 
chief  counsellor,  who  was  sitting  within  hearing)  and  I 
come  tonight,  and  the  family  can  come  the  next  night  ?" 

The  President  thought  to  catch  them  in  a  state  of  unpre- 
paredness  by  going  sooner  than  was  arranged  for  him,  but 
Phil  readily  acquiesced  in  the  President's  wish,  and  he  and 
Brother  Kimball  "took  in  the  show"  that  night.  They  both 
expressed  their  pleasure  and  spoke  words  of  encouragement 
to  the  performers. 

On  the  following  day  Manager  Margetts  sent  ninety 
tickets,  the  entire  seating  capacity  of  the  theatre,  to  Pres- 
ident Young  for  himself  and  family.  The  tiny  theatre  was 
packed  to  see  "The  Honeymoon."  The  Young  family  cer- 
tainly was  in  evidence  on  that  occasion,  but  there  was  quite 
a  sprinkling  of  "Heber's"  folks  and  other  friends  to  whom 
the  President  had  given  tickets  from  his  wholesale  reserve. 

"The  Honeymoon"  was  a  pronounced  success.  After 
the  play  Phil  appeared  before  the  curtain  and  in  a  happy 
way  thanked  the  President  and  those  of  his  family  and 
friends  present  for  honoring  the  company,  and  expressed 
regret  that  they  had  not  a  more  commodious  and  comfort- 
able theatre  in  which  to  entertain  their  friends. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  23 

Brigham,  evidently  pleased,  made  a  return  speech  from 
his  place  in  the  audience  and  complimented  the  company.  He 
encouraged  them  to  go  ahead  and  told  them  he  intended  be- 
fore long  to  build  a  good  big  theatre,  where  they  could  have 
ample  room  to  develop  their  dramatic  art,  observing  in  his 
characteristic  way,  that  the  people  must  have  amusement. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  these  performances  led  indirect- 
ly to  the  building  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  for  immediately 
after  this  the  President  instructed  Hyrum  Clawson  to  re- 
organize the  Deseret  Dramatic  Association  and  to  unite  it 
with  the  Bowring  Theatre  Company,  for  he  was  going  to 
build  a  big  theatre.  The  idea  had  evidently  entered  his 
mind  to  stay. 

"Brother  Brigham,"  as  he  was  popularly  and  lovingly 
called,  was  quick  to  comprehend  the  financial  results  of  a 
great  theatre  in  a  community  whose  members  were  all  lovers 
of  the  drama,  and  two  large  dramatic  associations,  bursting 
with  ambition  and  only  too  anxious  for  a  good  place  and 
opportunity  to  air  their  talents.  So  he  gave  it  out  in  meet- 
ing one  Sunday,  much  to  the  gratification  of  his  congrega- 
tion, that  he  was  going  to  build  a  big  "fun  hall,"  or  theatre, 
where  the  people  could  go  and  forget  their  troubles  occa- 
sionally, in  a  good,  hearty  laugh. 

"We  have  a  large  fund  on  hand,"  said  he,  "for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  Seventy's  hall,  but  not  enough  to  build  such  a  hall 
as  I  want  for  the  Seventies ;  so  we  will  use  that  fund  to  help 
build  the  theatre,  and  when  we  get  the  theatre  running  we 
can  pay  back  the  Seventy's  hall  fund  with  good  interest,  and 
in  that  way  the  Seventy's  will  get  their  hall  sooner  than  if 
they  started  to  build  it  now." 

The  Seventy's  hall  has  never  been  built ! 

The  big  theatre  was  planned  and  erected.  William  H. 
Folsom  was  the  architect  and  personally  superintended  the 
construction  of  the  building.  This  same  gentleman,  also, 
designed  and  built  the  big  turtle-shaped  Tabernacle,  proving 
that  he  was  a  constructive  genius. 

On  March  the  sixth,  1862,  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  al- 
though far  from  being  finished,  was  so  far  completed  as  to 
be  used,  and  on  this  date  it  was  opened  with  such  ceremonies 
as  would  not  only  be  deemed  unique  in  any  other  community, 
but  would  be  set  down  as  sacriligious  by  pious  people  of 
other  faiths. 

On  this  occasion  the  theatre  was  filled  to  its  utmost 
capacity  by  invitation.  No  admission  fee  was  charged,  the 


24  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

invitations  being  extended  by  President  Young  to  the  church 
authorities,  state,  county  and  municipal  officers,  the  workmen 
who  had  erected  the  building,  some  two  hundred  with  their 
families.  Some  even  who  held  invitations  could  not  get 
in ;  it  resembled  a  huge  revival  meeting. 

The  President  and  his  counsellors,  a  number  of  the 
apostles  and  other  church  dignitaries  sat  on  the  stage  in 
front  of  the  green  baize  drop  curtain.  The  parquette  was 
filled  with  the  officials,  church  and  secular,  and  the  dramatic 
company  and  members  of  their  families.  The  circles  were 
filled  principally  by  the  men  who  had  worked  on  the  building 
and  their  families.  There  was  a  feeling  of  greatest  expec- 
tancy pervading  the  large  audience.  The  people  were  there 
to  witness  not  a  play  on  this  occasion,  but  something  deemed 
of  still  more  importance,  the  dedication  of  the  new  theatre. 

The  Mormons  dedicate  all  of  their  public  buildings, 
whether  temples,  tabernacles,  stake  houses,  ward  houses, 
school  houses,  theatres,  dance  halls,  or  co-operative  stores 
to  the  service  for  which  they  were  erected. 

The  ceremony  is  much  like  one  of  their  religious  meet- 
ings with  the  addition  of  the  dedicatory  prayer. 

On  this  occasion  President  Brigham  Young  occupied  trie 
center  of  the  stage.  There  was  a  program  of  vocal  and  in- 
strumental music,  a  special  choir  gotten  together  for  the  oc- 
casion, and  the  theatre  orchestra,  led  by  Professor  "Charlie" 
Thomas,  furnished  the  music. 

President  Young  called  the  large  audience  to  order  and 
the  choir  sang.  Then  Daniel  H.  Wells,  or  "Squire"  Wells 
as  he  was  popularly  called,  offered  up  the  dedicatory  prayer. 
"Squire"  Wells  no  doubt  made  a  good  city  mayor  and  an 
efficient  general  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  but  the  worthy 
"Squire"  was  not  an  orator,  moreover,  he  had  his  piece 
written  for  this  occasion  and  read  it ;  his  peculiar  mode  of 
delivery  was  tiresome  even  when  at  his  best,  when  he  had 
his  choice  of  subject  and  all  the  latitude  he  could  desire; 
but  it  was  especially  so  on  this  occasion,  when  he  was  cir- 
cumscribed to  a  most  monotonous  enumeration  of  every- 
thing that  entered  into  the  construction  of  the  huge  building. 
Beginning  with  the  ground  on  which  it  stood  and  going  in 
systematic  order  up  through  it  foundation,  walls,  floors, 
doors,  windows,  to  the  roof,  particularizing  even  the  tim- 
bers, nails  and  bolts,  the  laths  and  plaster,  the  glass  and 
putty,  no  detail  he  could  think  of  was  omitted.  Each  and  all 
were  especially  dedicated  to  their  particular  purpose  and 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  25 

use,  and  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty  invoked  to  be  and 
continue  with  each  of  these  materials,  and  with  the  structure 
as  a  whole.  Even  to  those  who  believed  in  dedications,  who 
were  the  great  majority  of  those  present,  the  dedicatory 
prayer  was  just  a  little  wearisome  and  the  audience  experi- 
enced a  feeling  of  relief  when  it  was  over  and  William  C. 
Dunbar  stepped  to  the  front  and  assisted  by  the  choir  and 
orchestra,  sang  ''The  Star  Spangled  Banner." 

Brigham  Young  then  made  an  address  on  the  mission 
of  the  drama  and  his  object  in  building  the  theatre,  which 
avowedly  was  to  furnish  innocent  and  instructive  amuse- 
ment to  the  Saints.  He  inveighed  somewhat  extravagantly 
against  tragedy  and  declared  he  wouldn't  have  any  trag- 
edies or  blood-curdling  dramas  played  in  this  theatre.  This 
people  had  seen  tragedy  enough  in  real  life  and  there  was 
no  telling  the  far-reaching  and  evil  effects  tragedies  on  the 
stage  might  have.  He  strongly  opposed,  too,  the  idea  of  hav- 
ing any  Gentile  actors  play  in  this  theatre.  We  had  plenty 
of  home  talent  and  did  not  need  them. 

President  Heber  C.  Kimball  followed  in  a  brief  address, 
strongly  supportive  of  what  President  Young  had  said. 

Apostle  John  Taylor  then  gave  a  short  address ;  then 
came  selections  by  the  orchestra,  and  more  singing  by  the 
choir,  and  Mr.  Dunbar  sang  another  song  written  by  Apos- 
tle Taylor  for  the  occasion  and  set  to  music  by  Professor 
Thomas. 

For  the  grand  finale  an  anthem  written  for  the  occasion 
by  Eliza  R.  Snow  and  set  to  music  also  by  Professor  Thomas 
was  sung  by  the  choir,  accompanied  by  the  orchestra  and 
and  brass  band  consolidated  for  the  occasion.  The  solo 
parts  of  the  anthem  were  sung  respectively  by  Mr.  Dunbar 
and  Mrs.  Agnes  Lynch. 

The  musical  program  ended,  an  announcement  was 
made  that  the  theatre  would  be  formally  opened  on  Saturday 
evening,  March  the  eighth,  when  the  plays  of  "The  Pride 
of  the  Market"  and  "State  Secrets"  would  be  presented. 
The  people  anxiously  awaited  the  opening  night.  The  per- 
formance was  advertised  to  begin  at  7  o'clock.  At  5  o'clock 
hundreds  were  at  the  doors  waiting  to  get  in  and  before  the 
time  of  the  beginning  every  available  spot  of  both  seating 
and  standing  room  was  taken.  The  prices  of  admission  were 
75c  for  parquette  and  first  circles ;  upper  galleries  5oc. 

The  plays,  both  drama  and  farce,  were  capitally  acted. 
Dunbar's  song  between  the  plays,  "Bobbin'  Around,"  made 


26        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

an  immense  hit.  The  merging  of  the  M.  D.  A.  into  the  D.  D. 
A.  made  up  a  strong  company.  The  roster  of  the  Deseret 
Dramatic  company  as  it  stood  at  this  opening  performance 
and  the  cast  of  the  initial  plays  cannot  fail  to  be  of  interest 
after  a  lapse  of  more  than  forty-two  years  and  so  many  of 
the  original  players  have  passed  away. 

The  members  were :  Hyrum  B.  Clawson,  John  T.  Caine, 
Managers  and  both  players ;  Philip  Margetts,  David  McKen- 
zie,  William  C.  Dimbar,  John  R.  Clawson,  Henry  Maiben, 
Jos.  Simmons,  Horace  K.  Whitney,  Henry  E.  Bowring,  R. 
H.  Parker,  George  M.  Ottinger,  C.  R.  Savage,  George  Teas- 
dale,  Henry  McEwan,  John  Kelly,  Richard  Mathews,  John 
D.  T.  McAllister,  Sam  Sirrine,  Henry  Snell,  Mrs.  Marian 
Bowring,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Cook,  Mrs.<*Woodmansee,  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Clawson,  Mrs.  Alice  Clawson,  Miss  Maggie  Thomas, 
and  Miss  Sarah  Alexander.  Of  the  above-named  the 
following  have  passed  away:  John  R.  Clawson,  Henry 
Maiben,  Jos.  Simmons,  H.  K.  Whitney,  Henry  McEwan, 
John  B.  Kelly,  Richard  Mathews,  Henry  Snell,  Mrs.  Bow- 
ring,  Mrs.  Alice  Clawson,  and  Mrs.  Cook.  Bernard  Snow 
and  James  Ferguson  of  Social  Hall  fame  were  on  the 
roster,  but  not  active  members ;  they  too  are  gone. 

The  following  is  the  opening  bill : 

SATURDAY  EVENING,  MARCH  8,  1862. 
A  Beautiful  Comedy  in  Three  Acts, 
THE  PRIDE  OF  THE  MARKET. 


Cast  of  Characters. 

Marquis  de  Volange John  T.  Caine 

Baron   Troptora    Henry   Maiben 

Chevalier  De  Bellerive Jos.  Simmons 

Ravannes R.  H.  Parker 

Dubois David  McKenzie 

Isadore  Farine H.  B.  Clawson 

Preval S.  D.  Sirrine 

Servants R.  Mathews  and  Henry  Snell 

Waiter John  B.  Kelly 

Mille  De  Volange   Mrs.  Woodmansee 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         27 

Norton  (pride  of  the  market)  .  .Mrs.  M.  G.  Clawson 
Comic  Song,  "Bobbing  Around" .  .  W.  C.  Dunbar 

To  Conclude  With  the  Laughable  Farce 
STATE  SECRETS. 
Cast  of  Characters. 

Gregory  Thimblewell  (the  tailor  of  Tarn  worth). 

H.  E.  Bowring 

Robert  (his  son) R.  H.  Parker 

Master  Hugh  Neville   S.  D.  Sirrine 

Calverton  Hal W.  H.  Miles 

Humphrey  Hedgehog Phil  Margetts 

Maud  Thimblewell  (tailor's  wife).. Mrs.  Bowring 
Letty  Hedgehog  (with  song)  Miss  Maggie  Thomas 

Such  was  the  superb  comedy  bill  with  which  the  Salt 
Lake  Theatre  was  auspiciously  and  successfully  launched 
into  the  great  dramatic  sea  on  which  she  has  made  such  a 
long  and  splendid  voyoge. 

The  company  played  a  few  other  plays  between  trie 
opening  date  and  the  I5th  of  April,  catching  conference, 
which  closed  the  first  season  of  about  six  weeks'  duration. 
They  gave  fifteen  performances  in  this  time.  The  company 
during  this  first  short  season  scarcely  found  its  bearings, 
much  of  the  best  talent  was  in  the  background  and  it  took 
time  and  opportunity  to  discover  it  and  place  it  to  the  best 
advantage. 

During  the  first  season  of  the  Theatre,  Miss  Sarah  Alex- 
ander, in  addition  to  playing  many  of  the  soubrette  roles, 
was  the  premiere  danseuse  of  the  company,  and  gave  exhi- 
bitions of  her  skill  in  the  terpsichorean  art  between  the 
plays  almost  nightly;  she  was  eventually  superseded,  how- 
ever, by  Miss  "Totty"  Clive  (a  daughter  of  Mr.  Claud 
Clive,  the  costumer),  who  became  so  proficient  in  the  art  of 
dancing  that  before  she  was  15  years  of  age  she  was 
an  established  favorite  with  the  public,  and  a  feature  of  the 
theatrical  entertainments. 


28  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  isolation  policy  peculiar  to  the  Mormons  at  this 
period,  found  expression  in  a  discouragement  of  all  Gentiles 
(as  all  non-Mormons  were  called)  and  Gentile  enterprises 
in  Utah.  This  feeling  also  found  expression  to  some  ex- 
tent, for  a  short  time  in  the  sphere  of  the  theatre,  and  it  was 
boldly  announced  by  some  who  were  close  in  the  councils  of 
the  Mormon  chief,  that  he  would  have  no  Gentile  actors  in 
his  theatre.  A  policy  which  was  much  more  strongly  em- 
phasized at  the  time,  however,  was  as  to  the  character  of  the 
plays  that  should  be  presented.  President  Young  set  his 
foot  down  very  firmly  against  the  presentation  of  any  trag- 
edies, or  plays  of  tragic  character.  The  people  he  said  had 
seen  and  felt  too  much  of  the  tragic  side  of  life ;  he  wanted 
them  to  be  amused,  and  not  have  their  feelings  harrowed  up 
by  tragic  representations.  This  policy  obtained  for  a  short 
time  only ;  gradually  the  general  growing  desire  for  the  high- 
er class  of  plays  had  to  be  taken  into  consideration  by  the 
managers,  Clawson  and  Caine,  who  were  running  the  house 
in  the  interest  of  the  box  office,  chiefly,  and  this  initial  policy 
of  the  founder  of  the  theatre  was  gradually  abandoned,  as 
well  as  the  isolation  policy  which  was  to  debar  Gentile  actors 
from  the  stage  of  the  Mormon  Theatre. 

During  the  summer  of  '62  the  theatre  was  rushed  to 
completion.  On  December  24,  '62,  the  completed  theatre  was 
again  formally  dedicated  and  the  following  night,  Christmas, 
the  Stock  Company  opened  up  for  a  regular  winter  season 
in  the  "Honeymoon"  under  the  direction  and  tutorship  of 
our  old  Nauvoo  favorite,  Tom  Lyne,  who  had  learned  of 
the  opening  of  Brigham  Young's  new  theatre,  and  saw  a 
chance  to  renew  his  acquaintance  with  his  old  friends,  and 
do  a  little  business  with  them  in  their  new  temple  of  the 
drama. 

After  a  lapse  of  nearly  twenty  years,  during  which  his 
old  friends  and  admirers  had  completely  lost  sight  of  him, 
he  suddenly  "bobs  up  serenely"  at  Denver  where  he  had 
been  playing  an  engagement  with  J.  S.  Langrishe ;  from  here 
he  corresponded  with  Manager  Clawson  with  the  result  that 
he  was  engaged  to  come  to  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  as  a  tutor 
to  the  company.  He  was  received  with  great  kindness  by 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         29 

the  company  and  managers,  and  especially  by  Brigham 
Young,  who  treated  him  with  marked  consideration.  He 
coached  the  company  and  directed  several  plays  for  them, 
but  that  was  an  irksome  task  for  Lyne ;  he  wanted  to  face 
the  public  himself.  He  saw  a  great  opportunity  and  did  not 
rest  content  until  he  had  secured  a  starring  engagement  with 
the  managers. 

Accordingly  it  was  not  long  before  the  veteran  tragedian 
(Lyne  was  now  fifty-six)  was  announced  to  appear  in  a 
round  of  favorite  characters  supported  by  the  Theatre 
Stock  Company.  He  opened  on  January  I4th  in  "Damon" 
to  a  packed  house  and  played  in  quick  succession  the  charac- 
ters of  "Richelieu,"  "Othello,"  "Richard,"  "William  Tell," 
"Sir  Giles  Overreach,"  and  Rolla  in  "Pizarro."  In  the  latter 
play  he  could  not  expect  to  have  any  of  the  old  Nauvoo  cast, 
especially  Brigham  Young  for  the  "High  Priest,"  as  he 
was  now  reigning  as  High  Priest  in  reality ;  but  he  found  a 
very  capable  successor  in  the  person  of  George  Teasdale, 
who  since  his  experience  in  this  part  found  promotion  in 
the  priestly  line  until  he  became  one  of  the  chief  high  priests 
of  the  church  and  a  member  of  the  Twelve.  There  is  cer- 
tainly some  charm  in  that  character  of  the  "High  Priest"  in 
"Pizarro." 

Lyne's  engagement  was  the  first  one  made  with  any  out- 
side actor  and  broke  almost  in  the  very  start  the  President's 
avowed  policy  of  having  no  Gentile  actors  in  his  theatre.  It 
was  a  comparatively  easy  step,  however,  as  Mr.  Lyne  was 
regarded  as  almost,  and  likely  to  be  altogether,  one  of  us 
again,  which  idea,  however,  proved  quite  erroneous  for  Tom 
Lyne,  after  playing  several  profitable  engagements  during  his 
first  years  in  Salt  Lake,  where  he  settled  down  to  end  his 
days,  became  unnecessarily  cynical  and  bitter  against  the  dom- 
inant party ;  and  especially  against  the  proprietor  and  man- 
agers of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  when  they  decided  that  they 
had  played  him  all  that  was  profitable.  Lyne's  first  engage- 
ment had  "let  down  the  bars,"  broken  the  isolation  policy  to 
such  an  extent  that  other  Gentile  actors  soon  followed.  The 
truth  is  that  the  managers  discovered  even  at  that  early  period 
in  Salt  Lake's  theatrical  experience  that  the  local  Stock  Com- 
pany could  not  hold  up  the  interest  unaided  and  alone,  es- 
pecially after  the  Lyne  engagement  had  shown  the  public 
the  difference  between  a  past  master  in  the  art  (as  Lyne 
was),  and  a  company  of  comparative  novices  however  tal- 
ented they  might  be.  Another  line  of  policy  which  had 


30  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

been  laid  down  by  the  chief  of  the  new  amusement  bureau 
(that  he  would  not  have  any  tragedies  nor  murder  plays  per- 
formed in  the  new  theatre)  was  sadly  tangled  and  demoral- 
ized, during  the  very  first  engagement  of  an  outside  actor. 
"Virginius"  was  a  favorite  part  of  Mr.  Lyne's  and  it  went 
on,  notwithstanding  some  discussion  and  protest,  with  Mrs. 
Alice  Clawson  (Brigham's  prettiest  daughter)  as  Virginia. 
When  Virginius  thrust  the  death  dealing  butcher  knife  which 
he  purloins  from  the  neighboring  butcher  stall  into  the  trust- 
ing bosom  of  the  fair  Virginia,  exclaiming  "It  is  to  save  thine 
honor,"  the  Rubicon  was  crossed — the  leap  was  taken,  and  the 
second  cherished  whim  of  the  chief  promoter  of  amusements 
for  the  Saints  was  shattered;  it  fell  a  sacrifice  to  a  worldly 
"box  office"  policy ;  and  significant  to  relate,  his  favorite 
daughter  Alice  was  made  the  principal  accessory  to  this  dis- 
regard of  his  desires  and  counsel. 

The  step  once  taken  could  not  be  retraced.  Mr.  Lyne's 
"Virginius"  like  his  "Damon"  and  "Richelieu"  proved  very 
popular,  and  justified  several  repetitions.  It  was  found 
that  tragedy  had  its  votaries  quite  as  numerous  as  those  of  the 
Comic  Muse ;  and  there  were  no  more  protests  either  against 
the  Gentile  actors  or  the  tragic  plays,  for  the  varied  tastes  of 
theatre  patrons  had  to  be  considered  and  from  this  time  on 
"box  office"  considerations  wholly  dictated  the  managerial 
policy  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  that  is 
to  say,  the  first  short  season  of  1862  and  part  of  the  season 
of  '62-3,  the  company  was  somewhat  handicapped  by  the  lack 
of  a  competent  "leading  lady."  Mrs.  Wheelock  and  Mrs. 
Tuckett,  the  two  leading  actresses  of  the  Social  Hall  days, 
had  both  left  the  Territory  for  California,  and  this  left  the 
D.  D.  A.  weak  in  this  respect.  The  comedy  roles  were  well 
represented  in  the  persons  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Clawson,  Miss 
Sarah  Alexander,  Miss  Maggie  Thomas,  and  the  character 
parts  and  old  women  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Cook.  Mrs.  Marian 
Bowring  was  good  in  heavies,  while  pretty  Alice  Clawson 
could  make  good  in  a  walking  lady  or  light  juvenile  but  they 
were  short  a  "leading"  woman.  In  the  classic  plays  which 
Lyne  put  on :  "Virginius,"  "Damon  and  Pythias,"  "Rich- 
elieu," etc.,  (Mrs.  Alice  Clawson  was  cast  for  the  leading  ju- 
venile roles ;  she  filled  all  the  requirements  so  far  as  looks 
were  concerned,  but  was  not  at  all  convincing  where  any  im- 
passioned acting  was  required)  the  popular  verdict  was 
"She's  pretty,  but  can't  act."  Soon  the  managers  discovered 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  31 

a  very  talented  and  promising  actress  to  fill  the  place, 
in  one  Mrs.  Lydia  Gibson.  Lydia  was  the  young 
and  pretty  wife  of  Elder  William  Gibson,  who  had  recently 
converted  Lydia  to  the  Mormon  faith  in  the  old  country  and 
brought  her  to  Salt  Lake  and  prevailed  on  her  to  become 
Mrs.  Gibson  number  two.  She  was  a  very  lovely  woman 
and  when  she  made  her  advent  into  the  dramatic  company 
soon  became  a  general  favorite  both  with  the  company  and 
the  public,  and  more  than  one  fellow  experienced  a  pang  of 
envy  when  he  learned  she  was  the  wife  of  Elder  Gibson,  a 
man  old  enough  to  be  her  father.  Mrs.  Gibson  remained  in 
the  company  only  two  seasons,  long  enough  to  establish  her- 
self thoroughly  in  the  affections  of  everybody,  when  she 
sickened  and  shortly  after  died.  She  was  buried  in  Brigham 
Young's  private  burying  ground  near  where  the  prophet  him- 
self is  buried.  The  entire  dramatic  company  and  many  of 
the  community  followed  her  to  her  last  resting  place  with 
every  evidence  of  genuine  sorrow.  Her  dramatic  career 
was  brief  but  brilliant. 

There  had  been  some  trouble  on  the  male  side  of  the 
cast  also.  On  Lyne's  first  appearance — the  part  of  "Pythias" 
was  cast  to  the  old  Social  Hall  favorite  "Jim"  Ferguson — 
he  had  played  the  part  with  Snow  in  the  Social  Hall  and  was 
"accounted  a  good  actor;"  but  on  this  particular  occasion, 
one  of  no  small  importance,  being  his  first  appearance  at  the 
Salt  Lake  Theatre  as  well  as  the  first  appearance  of  Mr. 
Lyne,  Mr.  Ferguson  did  not  win  fresh  laurels.  No 
doubt  the  fact  of  appearing  alongside  of  a  verteran 
like  Lyne,  made  "Jim"  more  or  less  nervous.  Somehow  he 
did  not  "screw  his  courage  to  the  sticking  place,"  whether 
from  nervousness  or  other  causes,  and  failed  to  give  a  satis- 
factory performance  of  the  part ;  he  was  over-excited,  and  the 
Calanthe  complained  that  he  was  too  realistic.  He  terrified 
the  soldiers  of  Dionysius  to  such  a  degree  that  they  wanted  to 
desert,  and  Mr.  Lyne  declared  he  was  the  most  vigorous 
Pythias  who  had  ever  played  with  him,  but  he  could  nof  re- 
ly on  him ;  his  stage  business  was  so  eccentric  and  uncertain. 
"Jim"  thought  he  was  making  a  great  hit,  but  the  managers 
decided  to  make  a  change.  At  the  following  performance 
the  character  was  essayed  by  Mr.  John  R.  Clawson,  who  if 
not  so  brilliant  as  Ferguson,  proved  to  be  less  erratic  and 
more  steady  and  reliable. 

Ferguson  never  again  appeared  on  the  stage  but  devoted 
his  brilliant  talents  to  his  paper,  The  Mountaineer,  and  the 


32  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

practice  of  the  law.  John  T.  Caine  was  now  nominally  the 
leading  man  of  the  theatre.  He  had  played  with  stately  dig- 
nity the  parts  of  "Dionysius"  in  "Damon  and  Pythias"  and 
"Pizarro"  to  Lyne's  "Rolla,"  and  before  the  season  was  over 
a  number  of  leading  characters  in  plays  such  as  "Eustace 
Baudin,"  "Senor  Valiente,"  "Serious  Family,"  "All  That 
Glitters,"  etc. 

Each  of  Lyne's  characters  was  played  twice  or  three 
times,  and  went  far  toward  filling  up  the  season  as  the  com- 
pany played  but  two  nights  in  the  week.  The  Stock  Com- 
pany filled  out  the  season  of  '62-63  which  closed  after  the 
April  conference,  '63.  Soon  after  the  opening  season  of 
'63  and  '64,  the  Irwins  were  engaged,  and  opening  on  No- 
vember 4th  played  the  entire  season  till  April  loth,  1864. 

When  the  Irwin  engagement  began,  November  4th, 
1863,  this  put  Mr.  Selden  Irwin  in  all  the  leading  parts.  Ear- 
ly during  this  engagement  Mr.  David  McKenzie,  who  had 
already  scored  a  success  in  "old  man"  parts,  came  strongly  to 
the  front  in  the  play  of  "Evadne"  in  which  he  was  cast  for 
the  part  of  "Colonno,"  a  character  of  the  "Hotspur"  type. 
He  made  a  distinct  and  pronounced  hit  in  this 
character,  fairly  dividing  honors  with  Irwin,  who  played 
"Ludovico,"  a  character  of  the  "lago"  type,  and  second  only 
to  that  "great  villain,"  perhaps,  in  the  whole  range  of  the 
drama.  This  performance  brought  McKenzie  conspicu- 
ously to  the  front  so  that  he  was  promoted  to  the  leading 
position  and  held  it  with  public  approval  for  a  number  of 
years. 

A  year  or  so  ago  a  "write  up"  article  in  "Munsey" 
claimed  for  George  B.  Waldron  the  distinction  of  being  the 
first  Gentile  actor  to  play  in  the  Mormon  theatre.  How  far 
astray  from  the  historical  record  the  writer  was  can  be 
gleaned  from  the  foregoing  facts,  and  those  which  are  to 
follow. 

Mr.  Lyne's  first  engagement  lasted  into  March,  close 
up  to  the  April  Conference,  when  a  season  of  stock  work 
was  resumed  with  some  special  attraction  in  the  way  of 
spectacular  effects  for  the  conference  season.  It  was  the 
custom  during  the  first  regular  season  to  play  but  two  nights 
a  week — Tuesdays  and  Saturdays — the  other  evenings 
of  the  week  being  devoted  to  the  necessary  rehearsals,  as  it 
was  impracticable  to  get  the  company  together  in  the  day- 
time for  that  purpose,  as  they  all  had  other  occupations 
which  demanded  their  attention.  Each  play  was  given 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         33 

twice,  this  was  the  r*ule ;  it  was  the  exception  when  a  piece 
ran  three  nights  in  succession.  It  was  the  custom  to  put  up 
a  new  bill  each  week,  so  this  gave  the  company  about  a  week 
to  get  up  in  a  new  play  and  a  new  farce ;  with  their  daily 
occupations  to  attend  to  as  well.  Actors  today  would  con- 
sider it  a  task  to  get  up  in  a  new  play  and  a  farce  each 
week  with  nothing  else  to  attend  to.  It  will  readily  be 
understood  from  this  statement  that  the  original  stock  com- 
pany of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  had  no  sinecure,  or  "soft 
snap,"  to  phrase  it  in  the  present  vernacular,  especially  when 
it  is  made  known  that  during  all  this  season  there  was 
no  such  thing  as  salary  attached  to  their  positions.  They 
were  all  working  for  honor  and  glory,  and  to  help  Brother 
Brigham  pay  for  the  theatre;  but  there  was  no  grumbling; 
all  went  merry  as  a  peal  of  wedding  bells  for  "the  labor  we 
delight  in  physics  pain,"  and  the  first  regular  season  of 
the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  closed  after  the  April  Conference, 
1863,  with  a  good  financial  showing,  much  of  the  indebted- 
ness on  the  building  have  been  wiped  out,  and  everything  in 
good  shape  for  the  ensuing  season. 

This  first  long  season's  work  had  to  a  great  extent  dis- 
closed the  respective  merits  of  the  various  members  of  the 
company,  so  that  a  number  of  changes  were  wrought  out, 
some  members  gaining  promotions  in  accordance  with  pub- 
lic voice  and  approbation. 

During  the  summer  of  1863,  the  interior  decorations 
of  the  theatre  were  completed  and  preparations  were  made 
for  opening  the  season  of  '63  and  '64 — a  little  in  advance 
of  the  October  Conference,  which  always  brings  the  people 
in  even  from  the  remotest  settlements,  and  consequently 
makes  a  great  harvest  for  the  theatre.  The  stock  company 
opened  up  the  season  without  any  assistance  from  the  "Gen- 
tile" dramatic  world — no  second  star  had  as  yet  appeared 
on  our  dramatic  horizon.  Some  additional  interest,  however, 
was  lent  to  the  stock  company  by  the  accession  to  its  ranks 
of  two  new  members,  who  had  been  selected  from  an  ama- 
teur club  called  the  "Thespians,"  whose  performances,  given 
in  a  little  crib,  popularly  known  as  "Cromie's  Show,"  so 
designated  because  the  manager,  "Jimmy"  Thompson,  had 
acquired  the  nickname  of  "Cromie"  from  an  excellent  per- 
formance he  gave  of  that  character  in  the  farce  of  Betsy 
Baker. 

The  new  accessions  were  John  S.  Lindsay  and  James 
M.  Hardie,  whom  the  theatre  managers  had  picked  from  the 


34         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

ranks  of  the  young  "Thespians"  as  being  of  promise  and 
worthy  a  place  in  the  big  theatre.  The  company  presented 
a  number  of  comedy  dramas ;  did  the  usual  S.  R.  O.  busi- 
ness during  the  October  Conference  and  played  well  on  into 
the  month  of  November,  when  'The  Irwins"  were  engaged 
as  stock  stars  for  the  remainder  of  the  season.  This  en- 
gagement proved  to  be  a  wise  move  on  the  part  of  the  man- 
agement, for  the  strain  on  the  stock  company  was  becoming 
apparent,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  they  could  have 
held  the  public  interest  with  them  throughout  the  season ; 
so  the  Irwins  were  welcomed  by  both  the  company  and  the 
patrons  of  the  theatre.  Selden  Irwin  (or  as  he  was  famil- 
iarly called  "Sel")  was  at  this  time  in  the  very  flush  of 
manhood,  full  of  life  and  ambition,  with  a  plethora  of  good 
looks  and  activity.  He  was  essentially  a  dashing  actor,  and 
pleased  the  public  immensely.  Mrs.  Irwin  was  even  more 
of  a  favorite  than  "Sel."  If  not  great,  she  was  very  versa- 
tile, and  they  gave  Salt  Lakers  a  series  of  plays  of  very 
great  variety,  embracing  classic  tragedy,  comedy  and  farce. 
Everything  from  "Camille"  and  the  "Lady  of  Lyons"  to 
"That  Rascal  Pat"  and  "In  and  Out  of  Place."  With  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Irwin  was  Harry  Rainforth,  a  boy  of  sixteen  years, 
a  son  of  Mrs.  Irwin  by  a  former  marriage,  who  in  after  years 
became  a  well-known  manager,  being  a  partner  with  Bob 
Miles  in  the  Grand  Opera  House  at  Cincinnati.  Harry  was 
quite  an  actor  as  a  boy,  and  helped  out  the  cast  on  several 
occasions ;  his  most  conspicuous  effort,  however,  was  Lord 
Dundreary  in  "Our  American  Cousin,"  which  was  put  up  to 
give  "Sel"  a  chance  at  "Asa  Trenchard."  It  is  not  of  rec- 
ord that  Harry  ever  became  a  formidable  rival  of  Sothern's 
in  this  part,  but  on  this  occasion  he  filled  the  role  very  ac- 
ceptably. 

The  Irwins  remained  as  stock  stars  to  the  end  of  the 
season,  which  came  to  a  close  after  the  April  Conference, 
1864.  They  were  well  liked  by  the  Utahns,  and  came  back 
for  a  short  starring  engagement  the  season  of  '66,  after  mak- 
ing a  tour  of  Idaho  and  Montana  with  a  small  road  com- 
pany. The  Irwin  engagement  inaugurated  the  three  night 
performances  a  week  and  Saturday  matinees.  This  increased 
the  work  of  the  company  to  such  an  extent  that  they  had 
to  neglect  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  their  regular  business, 
that  on  which  they  depended  for  their  living,  for  it  must 
be  understood  that  there  was  no  compensation  attached, 
beyond  the  honor  of  acting  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  So 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  35 

there  began  to  be  some  dissatisfaction  with  this  part  of 
the  business,  and  complaints  from  some  that  they  were  neg- 
lecting their  business  for  the  theatre  and  ought  to  be  made 
good,  so  it  was  arranged  near  the  end  of  the  season  to  give 
two  benefit  performances — one  for  the  gentlemen  and  tne 
other  for  the  ladies  of  the  company,  and  then  divide  the 
results  pro  rata  among  the  members  of  the  company.  This 
scheme  was  carried  out  and  served  to  conciliate  the  players 
and  smooth  the  way  to  another  season's  work  for  the  man- 
agers. 

The  writer  at  this  time  was  probably  the  youngest  mem- 
ber of  the  company  and  had  attained  but  little  prominence, 
hence  his  "divvy"  was  a  very  modest  one,  yet  quite  accept- 
able, as  it  was  unexpected.  The  following  autograph  letter 
of  Brigham  Young's  will  show  the  method  adopted  by  the 
management  to  carry  on  the  business  and  make  the  com- 
pany contribute  liberally  to  the  building  of  the  theatre : 

SALT  LAKE  CITY,  April  i5th,  1864. 
Mr.  John  S.  Lindsay. 

DEAR  BROTHER  : — Inclosed  please  find  Twenty  Dollars, 
being  amount  assigned  you  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  Benefit 
recently  given  at  the  theatre. 

Appreciating  your  faithful  services,  and  the  alacrity 
with  which  you  have  contributed  to  our"  amusement  during 
the  past  season,  I  pray  God  to  bless  you,  and  increase  your 
ability  to  do  good. 

Your  brother  in  the  Gospel, 

BRIGHAM  YOUNG. 

This  plan  served  to  keep  the  company  in  a  contented 
mood,  and  was  repeated  at  the  close  of  the  following  sea- 
son with  like  result. 

The  writer  had  made  some  progress  in  the  company,  ana 
at  the  next  benefit  got  seventy-five  dollars  for  his  pro  rata; 
this  was  less  than  a  dollar  a  performance  during  the  season 
of  seven  months,  but  then  we  were  doing  good  missionary 
work,  in  the  way  of  amusing  the  people,  and  this  company 
were  engaged  in  a  labor  they  delighted  in ;  while  they  were 
assisting  in  a  great  measure  to  pay  for  the  great  Thespian 
temple  in  which  they  were  performing,  they  were  enjoying 
the  labor  immensely  and  gave  the  same  enthusiastic  efforts 
to  it  they  would  have  done  to  a  mission,  had  they  been 
called  to  go  and  preach  the  gospel.  Moreover,  they  were 


36  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

gaining  an  experience  in  art  that  would  have  been  perhaps 
impossible  for  them,  had  not  this  splendid  theatre  been 
erected  in  the  home  of  the  Saints.  Brigham  Young's  com- 
prehensive mind  had  grasped  the  advantage  to  his  people 
of  blending  art  with  religion,  and  relieving  the  monotony 
of  arduous  pioneer  toil  with  innocent  and  refreshing  amuse- 
ments. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  37 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SEASON   OF   '64-6$. 

A  Metropolitan  Theatre  in  the  Wilderness. 

The  Salt  Lake  Theatre  was  a  source  of  wonder  and  ad- 
miration to  all  strangers  visiting  it.  Considering  the  time 
and  the  place  of  its  erection,  the  isolated  condition  of  the 
people,  the  meagre  facilities  within  reach  for  so  big  a  pro- 
ject, the  quadrupled  cost  of  everything  that  had  to  be  im- 
ported, such  as  glass,  nails,  paints,  cloth  for  scenery  and 
everything  in  the  shape  of  decorations,  it  was  then,  and 
remains  today,  a,  monument  to  the  liberality,  foresight  and 
enterprise  of  Brigham  Young.  Since  its  erection,  forty- 
three  years  ago,  theatrical  architecture  has  been  vastly 
improved,  and  in  many  respects  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  is 
old-fashioned,  but  few  theatres  in  the  country,  with  all  the 
improvements  which  have  been  introduced,  surpass  it  in 
point  of  comfort  and  convenience,  especially  behind  the 
curtain.  When  it  is  considered  that  not  only  the  architec- 
tural designs,  the  mechanical  construction,  but  all  the  in- 
terior decorations  and  the  scene-painting  was  done  by  local 
talent,  it  speaks  highly  for  the  artistic  and  mechanical  skill 
that  was  centered  in  Salt  Lake  even  at  that  early  period  of 
its  history.  William  H.  Folsom  was  the  architect  and  per- 
sonally superintended  its  construction.  He  was  also  the 
architect  of  the  big  Tabernacle  with  its  turtle-shaped  roof 
spanning  a  stretch  of  150  feet  without  a  supporting  column. 
The  first  installment  of  scenery  was  painted  by  W.  V.  Mor- 
ris and  George  M.  Ottinger,  both  clever  artists,  and  with 
their  assistants  they  gave  the  theatre  stage  a  very  nice  in- 
vestiture in  the  way  of  scenery.  As  the  seasons  rolled 
around  the  scock  of  scenery  was  continuously  growing,  for 
every  new  play  had  to  have  something  done  for  it  in  the  way 
of  scenery,  so  that  the  painters  were  always  working,  and 
as  a  consequence  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  has  probably  a 
larger  stock  of  scenery  than  any  theatre  in  the  country.  The 
same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  the  stage  properties. 
"Charley"  Millard  was  the  property  man,  and  Charley  could 


38  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

manufacture  anything  in  the  shape  of  a  "prop"  from  a  throne 
chair  to  a  cuspidor,  from  a  papier  mache  cannon  to  a  fire- 
cracker, from  a  basket  horse  to  a  baby ;  so  that  in  the  course 
of  a  dozen  years  the  property  room  became  a  veritable  mu- 
seum, an  "old  curiosity  shop"  well  worth  an  hour  of  any- 
body's time  to  examine. 

There  was  a  wardrobe  department,  which  was  equal 
in  importance  if  not  superior  to  the  scenic  arid  property  de- 
partments. This  was  presided  over  by  Mr.  Claud  Clive,  an 
expert  tailor,  who  with  his  assistants,  manufactured  all  the 
costumes  for  the  male  characters  of  the  plays,  while  the 
female  costume  department  was  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
Marion  Bowring.  Mr.  Robert  Neslen  had  general  charge  of 
the  costume  and  wig  department,  and  dispensed  the  neces- 
sary apparel  and  wigs  to  the  company.  There  was  also  a 
tonsorial  artist  connected  with  the  house,  who  was  always 
there  to  curl  a  wig  or  put  it  on  in  good  shape  for  the 
actors  who  needed  such  assistance.  John  Squires  was  the 
tonsorial  artist — he  was  a  busy  man  in  those  days.  He 
had  his  shop  in  a  little  adobe  house  that  stood  directly  op- 
posite the  "President's  Office"  on  the  lot  where  the  Amelia 
Palace  was  afterwards  erected.  John  was  the  President's 
barber,  and  had  a  large  run  of  custom  from  the  church  and 
tithing  offices,  besides  nearly  all  the  actors  patronized  him, 
so  that  he  was  a  prosperous  man  in  the  community.  He 
continued  to  shave  his  share  of  the  people  up  to  within  a 
recent  date,  when  he  was  obliged  to  retire ;  "age  with  his 
stealing  steps  had  clawed  him  in  his  clutch,"  so  this  knight 
of  the  razor  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  lay  down  the  im- 
plements of  tonsorial  art,  the  strong  steady  hand  that  once 
could  clean  a  man's  cheek  in  about  three  strokes  had  grown 
weak  and  tremulous,  and  but  recently  he  passed  peacefully 
away  to  that  better  land  where  it  is  to  be  hoped  there  is  no 
shaving  or  need  of  hair-dye.  His  place  is  amply  filled, 
however,  for  John  has  a  numerous  progeny — and  all  his  sons 
and  grandsons,  so  far  as  we  know  them,  are  barbers.  Here 
we  find  a  true  touch  of  heredity. 

After  such  a  brilliant  and  successful  season  as  the 
Irwins  had  just  concluded,  it  seemed  like  a  daring  venture 
to  open  up  the  ensuing  season  with  the  stock  company  un- 
assisted by  the  strength  of  a  star;  but  notwithstanding  this 
seeming  riskiness,  the  managers  did  not  wait  for  the  en- 
suing season,  but  bravely  ushered  in  a  supplemental  season 
on  May  I4th.  Only  five  weeks  after  the  Irwins  had  closed 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  39 

their  long  and  brilliant  run,  the  stock  were  hard  at  it 
again,  notwithstanding  the  summer  days  were  come;  they 
kept  going  till  the  i8th  of  June,  when  the  "veteran  trage- 
dian" (Lyne,  at  the  time  58  years  of  age)  was  engaged 
to  reinforce  the  stock,  and  add  to  the  box  office  receipts. 
He  opened  this,  his  second  star  engagement,  on  June  25th 
and  played  up  to  July  i6th.  He  repeated  all  his  former 
triumphs  and  achieved  some  new  ones,  notably  in  "Sir  Giles 
Overreach"  in  "A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts." 

In  the  meantime  a  new  star  had  appeared  in  our  dra- 
matic horizon ;  by  the  time  Lyne  had  closed  his  engagement, 
it  was  in  our  ascendant,  astrologically  speaking,  and  by  the 
time  it  had  reached  our  zenith,  or  midheaven,  it  had  shed 
another  halo  over  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  and  the  drama  in 
Utah.  This  bright  particular  star  was  George  Pauncefort. 
"He  was  a  scholar,  and  a  ripe  and  good  one,"  an  actor  of 
rare  and  varied  accomplishments,  and  proved  to  be  an  in- 
valuable instructor  and  model  for  the  company.  Under  his 
leadership  a  great  progress  was  made.  Pauncefort  was  an 
English  actor,  who  had  acquired  considerable  celebrity  on 
the  London  stage.  He  was  a  married  actor,  and  his  wife 
and  several  daughters,  at  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing, 
were  quite  popular  on  the  stage,  and  their  names  appeared 
frequently  in  the  London  casts.  Pauncefort  came  to  the 
United  States  as  early  as  1858.  He  was  the  original  "Ar- 
mand  Duval"  in  "Camille,"  when  Matilda  Heron  first  pro- 
duced that  play  in  New  York.  After  his  New  York  engage- 
ment, Pauncefort  drifted  West,  and  in  1864  came  to  Salt 
Lake  for  a  brief  engagement  of  a  week  or  two.  He  had 
just  concluded  a  stellar  engagement  with  Jack  Langrishe 
at  Denver.  Denver  at  that  time  was  not  so  large  as  Salt 
Lake  City,  nor  could  it  boast  anything  like  so  good  a  theatre. 
The  great  overland  road  had  not  been  projected  at  this 
time,  and  people  crossing  the  country  from  Denver  to  Salt 
Lake  or  San  Francisco  were  obliged  "to  stage  it,"  or  travel 
with  private  conveyances.  So  George  had  to  stage  it,  not  a 
difficult  thing  for  an  actor  to  do.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Mrs.  Florence  Bell — who  was  featured  with  him  as  co-star 
during  his  first  engagement.  He  opened  on  July  2Oth,  1864, 
just  four  nights  after  Lyne  closed,  in  "The  Romance  of  a 
Poor  Young  Man,"  in  the  character  of  "Manuel,"  Mrs.  Bell 
playing  "Marguerite."  Pauncefort's  "Manuel"  made  a  great 
hit,  and  stamped  him  at  once  as  an  actor  of  superior  parts. 
It  was  a  new  awakening.  His  style  was  so  different  from 


40  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

anything  we  had  seen,  either  in  Lyne  or  Irwin.  Mrs.  Bell, 
however,  fell  as  far  below  public  expectation  as  Paunce- 
fort  went  above  it.  She  was  not  the  equal  of  our  own 
leading  lady,  Mrs.  Gibson — who  in  consequence  of  this 
engagement  had  to  be  retired  from  the  leading  roles,  and 
bear  with  what  grace  she  might  to  see  an  inferior  actress 
usurping  her  place.  The  popular  verdict  was  all  in  Mrs. 
Gibson's  favor.  Mrs.  Bell  was  a  pretty  woman,  but  a  very 
mediocre  actress.  The  management  would  gladly  have  re- 
tired the  lady  after  the  first  performance,  but  there  was  a 
contract,  and  she  was  allowed  to  play  the  leads  in  several 
plays,  during  this  engagement.  Pauncefort  played  until 
September  3Oth,  when  the  season  closed. 

It  no  doubt  cost  the  princely  George  a  pang  to  realize 
that  Mrs.  Bell  had  not  made  a  favorable  impression  with 
the  public,  as  he  had  featured  her  on  the  bills.  She  had 
found  great  favor  in  his  eyes,  if  not  so  fortunate  in  gaining 
the  public  favor.  Their  admiration  was  mutual  and  so  ap- 
parent that  it  was  frowned  upon  by  "the  powers  that  be." 
George  was  given  plainly  to  understand  that  although  Mor- 
mons believed  in  and  practiced  polygamy,  they  drew  the  line 
in  morals  at  promiscuity,  and  he  could  not  continue  his  pres- 
ent intimate  relations  with  Mrs.  Bell  and  his  engagement  at 
the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  George  took  the  hint  and  severed 
the  "entangling  alliance;"  all  the  easier,  no  doubt,  as  Mr. 
Bell  had  come  closely  on  their  heels  from  Denver.  Bell  was 
a  good  cornet  player,  and  secured  an  engagement  in  the 
Theatre  Orchestra,  where  he  played  until  the  end  of  the 
Pauncefort  season,  and  then  drifted  off  to  Montana,  "taking 
the  fair  Desdemona  along  with  him." 

That  the  Bell  alliance  worked  to  Pauncefort's  injury 
there  is  no  question.  President  Young  took  great  offense 
at  it,  and  never  attended  the  theatre  during  Pauncefort's 
engagement  after  the  opening  performances,  when  he  be- 
came apprised  of  the  intimacy  existing  between  George  and 
Florence.  On  Brigham's  first  visit  to  the  theatre  after  the 
Pauncefort  season,  the  writer  met  him  on  the  stage  near  his 
box  and  took  occasion  to  express  his  pleasure  at  seeing  him 
occupy  his  accustomed  seat  after  so  long  an  absence,  re- 
marking, "It  is  a  long  time  since  you  were  here,  President 
Young."  "Yes,"  he  replied.  "I  told  John  T.  and  Hyrum 
(the  managers  of  the  house)  that  I  would  not  come  into 
the  theatre  while  that  man  Pauncefort  was  here."  This 
showed  how  strong  a  prejudice  he  had  conceived  against 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  41 

Pauncefort — and  notwithstanding  the  very  favorable  impres- 
sion his  acting  had  made,  it  was  quite  a  long  time,  nearly 
four  months,  before  he  again  appeared. 

The  Lyne  and  Pauncefort  engagement  following  each 
other  in  such  close  succession  and  in  an  extra  season,  and 
that  season  a  mid-summer  one,  had  given  the  theatre-going 
public  a  very  gratifying  sufficiency  of  theatricals,  and  conse- 
quently it  was  not  thought  advisable  to  open  the  theatre 
again  until  the  ensuing  October  Conference;  so  the  house 
was  closed  up  for  a  period  of  five  weeks  and  reopened  on 
the  5th  of  October,  just  in  time  to  catch  the  Conference 
gatherings.  Although  both  Lyne  and  Pauncefort  were  in 
the  vicinity,  neither  of  them  were  engaged  until  after  the 
Conference  dates  were  passed.  The  management  could  rely 
on  full  houses  during  the  Conference  and  could  not  see  the 
policy  of  sharing  up  the  profits  with  a  star  when  the  stock 
company  could  fill  the  house  to  its  capacity.  The  Confer- 
ence over,  the  following  week  T.  A.  Lyne  opened  his  third 
engagement  and  played  up  to  the  loth  of  December;  a  very 
long  engagement,  lasting  eight  weeks.  Pauncefort  should 
naturally,  according  to  all  professional  ways  of  looking  at 
it,  have  filled  this  time ;  and  no  doubt  would  have  had  the 
preference  over  Lyne  if  the  managers  had  not  been  handi- 
capped by  the  strong  prejudice  of  the  "President"  against 
this  actor ;  for  he  was  the  newer  and  more  attractive  star. 
Lyne  had  already  played  two  long  engagements  and  ex- 
hausted his  repertoire,  besides  Pauncefort  had  introduced 
us  to  a  more  modern  and  popular  school,  and  from  financial 
considerations  alone,  any  manager  would  have  given  him 
the  preference,  but  he  did  not  get  back  into  the  theatre  for  a 
second  engagement  until  after  Lyne  had  played  everything 
he  knew ;  still  he  lingered  in  the  vicinity.  He  went  out 
through  the  provinces — played  smaller  towns,  such  as 
Springville  and  Provo,  with  their  home  companies — and  dab- 
bled in  merchandising,  shipping  fruit  to  Montana;  it  was 
bringing  big  prices  just  then.  On  the  I7th  of  December, 
1864,  George  Pauncefort  began  his  second  engagement  in 
"A  Bachelor  of  Arts"  and  "Black-Eyed  Susan."  It  was  dur- 
ing this  engagement  that  "Hamlet"  and  "Macbeth"  had 
their  initial  performances  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  Both 
of  these  plays  were  marked  events  in  the  history  of  the 
theatre,  more  particularly  "Macbeth,"  which  called  into  re- 
quisition the  Tabernacle  choir  to  play  the  witches  and  sing 


42        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE, 

the  music  of  the  play,  which  was  ably  conducted  by  Prof. 
C.  J.  Thomas. 

"Macbeth"  was  the  last  play  of  this  engagement  and 
closed  the  second  Pauncefort  season  on  January  7th,  1865 — 
a  brief  season  of  three  weeks — after  waiting  around  about 
four  months.  Why  this  engagement  ended  so  suddenly  in 
the  very  height  of  its  brilliancy  is  somewhat  puzzling  to  un- 
derstand, as  there  was  no  other  star  to  follow,  and  the  stock 
company  played  unassisted  by  any  stellar  attraction  up  till 
May  2Oth,  which  closed  the  season  of  '64  and  '65. 

Pauncefort  shortly  after  the  closing  of  his  engagement 
went  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  remained  for  more  than 
two  years — playing  there  at  intervals. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  43 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SEASON   '65   AND  '66. 

The  next  star  to  appear  at  the  Mormon  theatre  was 
Julia  Dean  Hayne,  and  a  brilliant  one  she  proved  to  be. 
She  created  on  her  first  appearance  an  impression  that  was 
profound  and  lasting,  and  each  additional  character  she  ap- 
peared in  only  served  to  strengthen  her  hold  on  the  admira- 
tion and  affection  of  her  audiences. 

The  advent  of  such  a  well-known  and  popular  actress 
into  the  heart  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  at  such  a  time, 
years  before  the  completion  of  the  overland  railroad,  had  in 
it  a  rich  tinge  of  romance  and  wild  managerial  venture. 
Julia  Dean  came  to  Salt  Lake  City  under  the  management 
and  in  the  dramatic  company  of  the  veteran  Western  man- 
ager, John  S.  Potter.  Some  time  prior  to  this  she  had  gone 
to  San  Francisco  from  New  York  by  way  of  the  Isthmus, 
had  played  a  successful  engagement  there,  and  being  "at 
liberty"  after  it  was  over,  Mr.  Potter,  who  was  an  old  ac- 
quaintance of  Mrs.  Hayne,  made  her  a  proposition  to  or- 
ganize a  company  and  play  her  through  the  principal  towns 
of  California.  This  was  done,  and  after  the  state  had  been 
pretty  thoroughly  toured,  the  fair  Julia  appearing  in  many 
places  that  had  very  "queer"  theatres,  the  tour  was  extended 
through  the  cities  of  Oregon  and  then  through  the  sparsely 
inhabited  territories  of  Montana,  Idaho  and  Utah,  finally 
arriving  in  Salt  Lake  July  26th,  1865,  on  a  regular  old-time 
stage  coach,  a  tired  and  jaded-looking  party.  There  was  in 
this  company  John  S.  Potter,  manager  (then  a  man  of  sixty 
or  more),  Julia  Deane  Hayne  (the  star),  George  B.  Waldron 
(leading  man),  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O.  F.  Leslie  (juveniles),  Mr. 
A.  K.  Mortimer  (heavies),  Charles  Graham  (comedian). 
Mr.  Potter  himself  played  the  "old  man"  parts,  Miss  Belle 
Douglas  playing  characters  and  old  woman  parts,  and  "Jim- 
mie"  Martin,  property  man  and  filling-in  parts.  The  fame 
of  Brigham  Young's  theatre  had  reached  them  in  their  trav- 
els, and  they  had  traveled  many  miles  to  get  the  opportunity 
of  playing  in  it.  A  week's  engagement  was  soon  effected, 
and  on  August  nth,  1865,  "The  Potter  Company"  with 


44         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Julia  Dean  Hayne  as  the  stellar  character,  opened  up  in  the 
play  of  "Camille."  They  were  received  by  a  packed, house, 
and  with  every  demonstration  of  welcome  and  approbation. 
Mrs.  Hayne,  who  was  no  longer  girlish  in  face  and  figure 
but  a  mature  woman,  verging  on  towards  the  "fair,  fat  and 
forty"  period,  was  nevertheless  so  exquisitely  beautiful  and 
girlish-looking  when  made  up  for  "Camille"  or  "Julia"  in 
the  "Hunchback,"  that  everybody  sang  her  praises.  The 
entire  community  seemed  to  have  fallen  irresistibly  in  love 
with  the  new  star,  and  henceforward  she  had  fair  wind  and 
smooth  sailing  while  her  lot  lay  cast  among  the  Saints. 
While  the  Potter  Company  were  playing  in  the  theatre,  sup- 
porting Mrs.  Hayne,  the  stock  company  were  of  course  get- 
ting a  needed  rest,  but  their  salaries  (  ?)  were  going  on  as 
usual,  and  the  management  could  not  well  afford  to  have 
two  companies  on  its  hands,  so  after  the  first  week,  the 
novelty  being  over,  the  Potter  company  were  let  out,  and  the 
regular  company  reinstalled.  The  Potter  Company,  how- 
ever, had  lost  its  "star;"  the  theatre  managers  had  effected 
an  engagement  with  Julia  Dean  to  remain  with  them  for 
the  rest  of  the  season  as  stock  star  with  George  B.  Waldron, 
also  to  play  her  leading  support,  and  direct  the  staging  of 
her  plays. 

This  proved  a  severe  blow  to  the  Potter  Company,  who 
now  had  no  place  to  play  in  in  Salt  Lake  and  could  not  well 
take  to  the  road  again,  having  lost  their  principal  attraction. 
Potter  had  not  expected  to  have  been  so  soon  supplanted. 
He  came  to  Salt  Lake,  expecting  to  find  a  company  of  ama- 
teurs, and  thought  no  doubt  the  managers  would  be  glad  to 
supplant  them,  at  least  for  a  good  long  season,  with  the 
Potter  Company  and  its  distinguished  star.  Outside  of  Mrs. 
Hayne  and  Mr.  Waldron,  however,  the  Salt  Lake  Company 
was  much  more  numerous,  talented  and  capable  than  the 
Potter  Company.  It  took  but  one  or  two  performances  for 
the  managers  to  discover  this,  and  they  hastened  to  make 
the  arrangements  with  Julia  Dean  and  Mr.  Waldron  and 
to  reinstate  their  own  company. 

Poor  Potter  and  his  remaning  company  were  in  a  sorry 
strait.  Their  overland  jaunt,  through  Oregon,  Montana  and 
Idaho,  had  not  been  very  lucrative,  and  now  they  were 
out  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  a  thousand 
miles  from  any  metropolis  with  a  theatre,  and  no  railroad 
to  get  away  on ;  nothing  but  the  overland  coach.  Potter 
was  a  resourceful  manager,  however;  he  was  not  easily 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         45 

daunted;  with  him  Richmond's  admonition  to  his  army  was 
ever  present.  "True  hope  never  tires,  but  mounts  on  eagle's 
wings.  Kings  it  makes  gods,  and  meaner  creatures 
kings."  He  found  in  "Tom"  Lyne  an  old  acquaintance,  and 
a  strong  ally.  Lyne  was  by  this  time  disgruntled  and  dis- 
satisfied with  the  theatrical  outlook  in  Salt  Lake ;  he  was 
not  getting  any  more  the  plaudits  and  the  "star's"  share  oi 
the  receipts.  He  wanted  some  place  to  play  in.  So  he  in- 
spired Potter  with  the  notion  of  building  an  opposition 
theatre  to  that  "monopoly"  of  Brigham  Young's.  Potter 
drank  in  Lyne's  inspiration  fervidly.  The  idea  took  a  fran- 
tic possession  of  him,  and  plans  were  at  once  devised  for  get- 
ting up  anothe^j  house  as  speedily  as  possible,  for  the  season 
was  advancing  and  if  the  project  was  not  hurried  the  Pot- 
ter company  would  be  scattered  beyond  all  recovery.  So  it 
was  decided  to  erect  a  cheap  frame  building,  and  push  it 
to  completion  as  rapidly  as  possible.  This  decision  served  to 
keep  the  Potter  Company  in  Salt  Lake,  as  they  all  had  faith 
in  the  scheme,  and  faith  in  themselves  that  they  could  win 
out.  They  argued  that  by  the  time  the  new  play-house 
was  ready  to  open  that  Julia  Dean  and  Waldron  would  be 
played  out  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  and  something,  new 
would  catch  the  people.  Poor,  deluded  actors,  they  did  not 
know  the  people  of  Salt  Lake ;  they  knew  them  better  after. 
How  much  money  Mr.  Lyne  put  into  this  scheme  the  writer 
never  could  learn  from  him,  but  I  opine  it  was  very  little. 
He,  however,  secured  the  building  site,  by  some  kind  of  a 
deal  with  "Tommy"  Bullock.  It  was  about  where  Din- 
woodey's  furniture  store  now  stands.  Potter  had  little  or  no 
money  with  which  to  start  such  an  enterprise,  so  Lyne  in- 
troduced Mr.  Potter  to  such  of  the  merchants  and  lumber- 
men as  he  wanted  to  do  business  with.  Potter  played  a 
bold  game,  and  really  accomplished  a  great  feat  in  the  build- 
ing of  this  theatre.  He  got  from  sixty  to  ninety  days'  credit 
for  everything  nearly  that  went  into  the  construction  of  the 
building.  It  was  a  cheap  affair ;  built  of  poles,  hewn  to  an 
even  size  and  placed  in  the  ground  like  fence  posts ;  then 
boarded  on  both  sides  with  rough  boards,  the  space  between 
the  inside  and  outside  boarding  being  filled  in  with  sawdust 
and  refuse  tan  bark  from  the  tanneries,  to  make  the  building 
warm.  The  place  was  about  half  the  size  of  the  Salt  Lake 
Theatre ;  that  is,  it  had  about  half  the  seating  capacity  and  a 
stage  about  one-fourth  the  size  of  the  theatre.  The  struc- 
ture, including  the  lease  of  ground,  cost  about  $7,000.  It 


46         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

was  put  up  in  about  thirty  days,  so  that  Potter  had  a  month's 
more  time  in  which  to  pay  for  the  bulk  of  the  material,  but 
the  merchants  and  laborers  who  did  the  building  were  wor- 
rying his  life  out  long  before  he  got  it  going,  for  their  money. 
He  proved  to  be  an  expert  at  "standing  off"  his  creditors, 
however,  so  by  hook  and  crook  he  got  the  building  com- 
pleted, his  company  reorganized,  and  the  theatre  started. 
Some  very  amusing  stories  were  related  of  him  at  the  time ; 
how  he  would  cajole  and  stuff  with  promises  the  dissatis- 
fied workmen  as  to  what  he  would  do  as  soon  as  he  got  the 
house  open.  One  man  went  to  him  with  the  sorrowful  story 
that  his  landlady  had  refused  to  credit  him  any  longer,  and 
he  must  have  money  to  pay  his  board  and  lodgings.  Potter 
looked  at  him  pityingly,  and  expressed  his  regret  that  he 
could  do  nothing  for  him  till  he  got  the  theatre  going.  "It 
will  soon  be  finished  now ;  tell  your  landlady  this,  and  if  this 
will  not  appease  her,  change  your  boarding  house."  To 
such  like  desperate  shifts  and  subterfuges  was  he  obliged  to 
resort  to  keep  the  men  at  work,  doling  them  out  a  few  dol- 
lars at  a  time,  when  they  became  unmanageable  or  threat- 
ened to  quit.  Eventually  the  house  was  ready  for  opening 
and  "Tom"  Lyne  had  to  have  the  first  "whack"  at  the  new 
box  office  receipts. 

With  woeful  shortsightedness  they  put  up  for  the  open- 
ing, "Damon  and  Pythias,"  with  Lyne  starred  as  "Damon," 
a  character  he  had  already  played  three  or  four  times  at  the 
other  theatre.  Lyne  probably  thought,  however,  with  Rich- 
ard that  "the  king's  name  is  a  tower  of  strength,  which 
they  on  the  adverse  faction  want."  Such  did  not  prove  to 
be  the  case,  however,  as  the  "adverse  faction"  having  in  view 
the  opening  of  the  opposition  house,  put  on  a  strong  new 
bill  with  Mrs.  Hayne  in  a  new  and  powerful  character,  so 
that  there  was  no  apparent  diminution  of  patronage,  and  the 
Salt  Lake  Theatre  kept  on  the  even  tenor  of  its  way  "wtth 
not  a  downy  feather  ruffled  by  its  fierceness."  Potter  and 
Lyne  had  succeeded  in  getting  "Jim"  Hardie  away  from  the 
other  house  by  offering  him  the  part  of  Pythias  and  a  larger 
salary  than  he  was  getting  at  the  older  house.  "Jim"  at  this 
time  was  the  youngest  actor  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  com- 
pany, and  had  not  yet  made  much  advancement ;  he  was 
ambitious,  however,  and  this  opportunity  to  play  "Pythias" 
to  Lyne's  "Damon"  was  very  alluring  to  him,  so  he  deserted 
the  ranks  of  the  D.  D.  A.  and  allied  himself  with  Lyne-Pot- 
ter,  et  al.,  with  what  poor  judgment  the  sequel  will  show. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  47 

The  new  theatre  was  christened  "The  Academy  of 
Music,"  with  what  reason  or  consistency  no  one  could  ever 
conceive,  unless  it  was  to  give  it  a  big  sounding  name,  to 
allure  the  unwary,  for  it  was  as  utterly  unlike  an  Academy 
of  Music  as  anything  could  be. 

On  the  opening  night,  the  novelty  of  the  new  theatre 
opening,  and  curiosity  to  see  the  Academy  and  Mr.  Lyne 
with  his  new  support,  sufficed  to  draw  a  fairly  full  house. 

Several  amusing  incidents  transpired  on  that  eventful 
evening.  First  and  most  laughable  was  the  following : 
"Jim"  Hardie  had  a  brother-in-law  named  "Pat"  Lynch. 
Pat  had  been  clerk  of  the  district  court  for  a  number  of  years 
and  was  well  known  for  a  big-hearted,  generous  man,  his 
greatest  fault  being  that  he  would  indulge  occasionally  too 
freely  in  the  ardent.  "Pat"  had  loaned  "Jim"  ten  dollars  to 
help  him  get  a  costume  for  "Pythias" — the  Academy  had  no 
wardrobe  department  and  "Jim"  could  not  with  any  grace  at- 
tempt to  borrow  one  from  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  It  would 
appear  he  had  promised  to  get  an  advance  as  soon  as  the 
box  office  had  begun  to  take  in  money,  and  Pat  nad  ex- 
pected the  return  of  his  money  that  day ;  at  all  events,  he 
was  present  at  the  play,  occupying  a  front  seat  in  the  par- 
quette.  He  had  been  indulging  freely,  and  his  sight  was  not 
so  clear  as  usual;  besides,  he  had  the  character  of  Pythias 
and  Dionysius  mixed  in  his  imagination.  Mr.  Potter  was 
playing  Dionysius,  and  as  he  strode  on  at  the  rise  of  the 
curtain  and  began  to  speak,  Pat  mistook  him  for  Hardie  and 
bawled  out  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "See  here,  Dionysius, 
where's  that  ten  dollars  you  owe  me?"  Potter  was  filled 
with  consternation;  Pat's  friends  who  were  with  him  suc- 
ceeded in  quieting  him  and  Potter  made  another  start,  this 
time  without  interruption.  Pat  had  discovered  his  mistake, 
that  he  had  dunned  the  wrong  man,  and  it  took  but  little 
persuasion  to  get  him  to  leave  the  theatre.  Hardie,  behind 
the  scenes  waiting  for  his  entrance,  and  fearing  a  second 
explosion  when  he  should  make  his  appearance,  was  im- 
mensely relieved  to  see  from  the  side  wings  Pat's  compan- 
ions lead  him  up  the  aisle  and  out  of  the  theatre.  Potter,  not 
aware  but  what  it  was  one  of  his  numerous  creditors  dun- 
ning him,  when  he  made  his  first  exit,  threw  up  his  hands  in 
dismay,  and  said  to  Lyne  in  the  wings:  "My  G — d,  they 
won't  give  me  any  peace !  Even  dunning  me  from  the 
audience."  When  Lyne,  who  had  caught  the  truth  of  the 
matter,  explained  to  him,  he  was  greatly  relieved. 


48        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Another  amusing  incident,  and  one  which  nearly 
wrecked  the  scene,  was  furnished  by  the  little  girl  they  had 
for  Damon's  boy.  It  has  never  been  a  difficult  task  to  find  in 
Salt  Lake  a  pretty  and  clever  child  to  play  the  child's  part  in 
this  or  any  other  play.  On  this  occasion,  the  selection  was 
probably  limited  to  a  small  circle,  owing  to  the  feeling  en- 
gendered by  this  oppositon  to  the  favorite  theatre ;  at  all 
events,  the  "Damon's"  child  of  the  occasion  was  an  uncul- 
tured looking  little  miss  of  about  six  years ;  she  was  so  dark 
and  tawny-looking  that  she  might  have  had  Indian  blood 
in  her  veins,  and  certainly  she  had  a  touch  of  the  obduracy 
and  stolidness  that  characterize  that  race;  Belle  Douglass 
was  the  "Hermion"  of  the  occasion,  and  she  was  obliged  to 
improvise  and  speak  most  of  the  child's  lines  for  her ;  when 
"Damon"  came  on  for  the  farewell  interview  with  his  be- 
loved "Hermion"  and  his  darling  boy,  he  strove  in  vain  to 
get  a  response  from  his  young  hopeful ;  the  child  had  become 
thoroughly  nervous,  and  seemed  apprehensive  of  some  dan- 
ger— and  when  "Damon"  interrogated  her,  "What  wouldst 
thou  be,  my  boy?"  instead  of  the  cheerful  response,  "A  sol- 
dier, father,"  there  came  only  a  frightened  look,  and  the 
child  put  its  finger  in  its  nostril,  and  swayed  to  and  fro,  as 
if  she  would  say,  but  dare  not,  "I  want  to  go  home,"  Miss 
Douglass,  annoyed,  pulled  the  little  hand  down  testily  from 
the  child's  nose,  and  "Damon"  repeated  the  question,  "What 
wouldst  thou  be,  my  boy?"  No  answer,  but  up  went  the 
finger  again  to  the  nose.  "Hermion"  again  pulled  down  the 
hand,  and  rather  harshly  demanded,  "Come,  say,  what 
wouldst  thou  be,  my  boy?"  The  child  by  this  time  was 
nearly  terrified,  and  only  repeated  the  nose  business  with 
more  emphasis — and  began  to  cry — and  "Damon"  utterly 
disgusted  with  his  youthful  prodigy,  hurried  him  off  to  pluck 
the  flower  of  welcome  for  him.  The  child's  queer  action  of 
sticking  its  finger  up  its  nose  sent  the  house  almost  into  con- 
vulsions of  laughter,  and  came  near  converting  one  of  the 
greatest  scenes  of  the  play  into  a  burlesque.  Lyne  played 
all  the  other  plays  in  his  repertoire  in  rather  rapid  succes- 
sion, as  the  aim  was  to  keep  the  Academy  open  every  night 
(except  Sundays)  and  as  each  play  would  bear  but  one  repe- 
tition, this  repertoire  was  soon  exhausted,  and  as  there  was 
no  other  "star"  in  the  Utah  firmament  to  fill  the  place,  the 
Academy  went  into  a  rapid  decline.  As  the  business  had 
not  proved  to  be  what  the  promoter  and  manager  had  cal- 
culated on,  Potter  was  daily  besieged  by  creditors,  until  the 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         49 

poor  man  was  almost  driven  frantic.  The  heavy  creditors, 
those  who  had  furnished  material  on  sixty  days'  time,  now 
began  to  grow  troublesome,  and  one  attachment  after  an- 
other followed,  until  the  house  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
sheriff — and  Brigham  Young,  through  T.  B.  H.  Stenhouse, 
as  agent,  made  a  deal  by  which  the  property  came  into  his 
hands.  He  soon  put  a  force  of  men  to  work  who  tore  it 
down,  hauled  it  away  and  fenced  a  farm  with  it. 

Such  in  brief  is  the  history  of  Potter's  Academy  of 
Music.  The  merchants  and  lumbermen  who  had  given  Pot- 
ter such  liberal  credit  were  now  sadder  but  wiser  men. 

Potter  got  away  as  soon  as  possible,  for  matters  were 
very  pressing  and  unpleasant  for  him.  His  company  drifted 
off  in  various  directions,  except  Belle  Douglass,  who  got 
married  to  Captain  Clipperton  and  settled  down  in  Salt  Lake, 
and  after  a  while  got  into  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  Hardie 
also  got  back  after  a  time,  long  enough  for  him  to  become 
repentant  and  express  his  regrets  for  what  he  had  done. 

The  season,  by  the  time  the  Academy's  brief  career  had 
ended,  was  well  advanced  into  the  spring.  Julia  Dean  Hayne 
had  not  only  not  played  out,  but  had  steadily  grown  in  the 
affection  of  the  people.  Mr.  Waldron  continued  to  toe  a 
favorite  also ;  but  Julia  Dean  was  the  bright  particular  star 
whose  effulgence  can  never  be  effaced  from  the  memorfes 
of  those  who  attended  her  performances  during  that  mem- 
orable engagement.  She  received  many  marks  of  personal 
favor  from  President  Brigham  Young ;  indeed,  it  was  cur- 
rent gossip  that  the  President  was  very  much  enamored 
of  the  fair  Julia  and  had  offered  to  make  her  Mrs.  Young 
number  twenty-one.  How  much,  if  any,  truth  there  was  in 
this  gossip  will  perhaps  never  be  known ;  the  fact  that  Brig- 
ham  did  pay  her  unusual  attention  and  gave  several  parties 
in  her  honor  and  had  a  fine  sleigh  built  which  he  named 
the  Julia  Dean  was  quite  enough  to  set  the  people  talking. 
The  probability  is  that  the  President  was  very  much  charmed 
with  her,  and  sought  to  win  her  to  the  Mormon  faith ;  had 
he  succeeded  in  this,  he  might  then  have  felt  encouraged 
to  go  a  step  further  and  win  her  to  himself,  for  in  spite 
of  his  already  numerous  matrimonial  alliances,  he  did  not 
consider  himself  ineligible.  The  fair  Julia  was  not  ineligible, 
either,  for  she  was  divorced  from  her  husband,  Dr.  Hayne, 
the  son  of  a  "favorite  son"  of  South  Carolina.  Speculation 
was  rife,  and  much  surprise  and  wonder  was  excited  in  cer- 
tain quarters  that  President  Young  should  go  out  of  his  way 

4 


50  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

to  show  more  marked  attention  to  an  actress  than  he  had 
ever  shown  to  any  of  his  wives ;  but  he  was  bent  on  getting 
Julia  into  the  fold ;  once  there,  he  could  have  played  the  good 
shepherd,  and  have  secured  her  an  exaltation.  She  had  an- 
other man  in  her  eye.  One  she  had  set  her  heart  upon,  too. 
"As  hers  on  him,  so  his  was  set  on  her,  but  how  they  met 
and  wooed  and  made  exchange  of  vows  I'll  tell  thee  as  we 
pass." 

James  G.  Cooper  was  at  this  particular  time  secretary  of 
the  territory  of  Utah — an  appointee  of  the  United  States 
government.  He  was  a  cavalierly  man  of  southern  birth 
and  breeding — tall  and  handsome,  and  of  courtly  bearing,  a 
great  lover  of  the  theatre.  He  was  never  known  to  miss  a 
performance  during  Julia  Dean's  engagement.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  admirers  she  had ;  night  after  night, 
all  the  season  through,  he  sat  in  front,  nearly  always  in  the 
same  seat,  and  with  eyes  aglow  and  ears  alert,  he  seemed  to 
absorb  every  tone  of  her  voice  and  catch,  every  gleam  of 
her  eyes — her  every  move  was  to  him  a  thrill  of  rapture. 
Out  of  her  thousands  of  admirers  he  was  the  most  de- 
voted worshipper  at  her  shrine.  Up  to  a  certain  time  he 
worshipped  in  silence  as  if  she  were  a  deity.  Chance  had 
made  them  neighbors :  the  secretary's  office  and  Mrs. 
Hayne's  apartments  were  in  adjoining  houses,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  an  acquaintanceship  was  formed  which  rapidly 
grew  into  a  friendship  and  friendship  soon  ripened  into  love. 

These  lovers  were  discreet,  however.  Many  happy 
hours  they  passed  in  each  other's  company,  but  they  did 
not  parade  their  love,  nor  "wear  their  hearts  upon  their 
sleeves  for  daws  to  peck  at."  Little  did  her  audience  sus- 
pect that  often  when  she  cast  her  most  bewitching  glances, 
and  brightened  their  faces  with  her  radiant  smiles,  that  those 
smiles  were  mounted  especially  for  him ;  but  he  knew — how 
could  he  help  but  know.  Cupid  had  drawn  his  bow  and 
sped  his  dart. 

"Where  on  a  sudden  one  hath  wounded  me,  that's  by  me 

wounded 
Both  our  remedies  within  thy  help  and  holy  physic  lie." 

So  after  the  close  of  the  season,  much  to  the  surprise 
of  her  numerous  admirers,  "these  'twain  were  made  one 
flesh."  They  bade  a  rather  hasty  farewell  to  the  land  of 
the  Saints^  and  wended  their  way  to  the  far  East  by  stage- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         51 

coach,  the  terminus  of  the  Pacific  road  being  yet  some  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  Salt  Lake. 

Mrs.  Hayne's  last  appearance  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre 
was  an  event  marked  with  quite  as  much  if  not  more  of  in- 
terest than  her  first  appearance.  She  had  become  endeared 
to  the  Salt  Lake  public,  and  they  regarded  her  approaching 
departure  with  genuine  regret.  At  her  last  performance,  June 
3Oth,  1866,  she  appeared  as  "Camille,"  the  same  character 
in  which  she  opened  her  engagement,  and  was  the  recipient 
on  this  occasion  of  many  tokens  of  kindness  and  apprecia- 
tion. Being  called  enthusiastically  to  the  front  of  the  curtain 
after  the  performance,  she  bade  a  loving  farewell  to  Salt 
Lake  and  its  people  in  one  of  the  most  delicately  and  taste- 
fully worded  speeches  ever  made  in  front  of  a  theatre 
drop.  During  her  long  engagement,  lasting  from  August 
nth,  '65,  to  June  3Oth,  '66,  she  played  all  the  great  classic 
female  roles  that  were  then  popular,  a  number  of  comedies, 
and  even  took  a  dip  into  extravaganza  or  burlesque,  appear- 
ing during  the  holiday  season  in  the  character  of  Alladin  in 
"The  Wonderful  Lamp,"  which  ran  for  eleven  consecutive 
performances.  Her  best  remembered  characters  are  "Ca- 
mille," "Lady  Macbeth,"  "Leah,"  "Parthenia,"  "Julia"  (in  the 
"Hunchback"),  "Lucretia  Borgia,"  "Medea,"  "Marco," 
"Lady  Teazle,"  "Peg  Woffington,"  and  "Pauline"  in  the 
"Lady  of  Lyons."  In  her  ten  months'  engagement,  she 
played  a  great  many  plays  besides  those  mentioned,  each  play 
being  presented  twice  or  three  times,  according  to  its  popu- 
larity. 

Among  others,  an  Indian  play,  entitled  "Osceola,"  writ- 
ten by  E.  L.  Sloan,  then  editor  of  the  Salt  Lake  Herald,  in 
which  Mr.  George  Waldron  played  the  title  role  and  Mrs. 
Hayne  the  chief's  daughter.  The  piece  had  a  fair  success, 
but  has  never  been  heard  of  since.  Mr.  Sloan  wrote  another 
play  a  year  or  two  later,  about  the  time  of  the  completion  of 
the  overland  railroad,  which  he  called  "Stage  and  Steam." 
This  was  a  melodrama  with  a  stage  coach  and  railway  train 
in  it,  intended  to  illustrate  the  march  of  civilization.  It  had 
two  presentations,  and  was  never  acted  again  that  we  are 
aware  of.  It  was  during  Mrs.  Hayne's  engagement  also  that 
Mr.  Edward  W.  Tullidge  made  his  first  essay  as  a  dramatic 
author — -Mrs.  Hayne  and  Mr;  Waldron  had  exhausted  the 
list  of  available  plays  and  new  plays  were  in  demand.  Tul- 
lidge's  play  was  entitled  "Eleanor  de  Vere,"  or  "The  Queen's 
Secret,"  an  episode  of  the  Elizabethan  Court — in  which 


52         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Queen  Elizabeth  was  a  secondary  character.  Tullidge  had 
written  his  play  with  various  members  of  the  company  in 
his  eye,  and  succeeded  in  fitting  them  very  well.  This  play 
made  a  very  favorable  impression  and  was  repeated  several 
times  to  large  and  appreciative  audiences.  Mrs.  Hayne's 
character,  "Eleanor  de  Vere,"  was  one  of  the  Queen's  wait- 
ing women,  in  love  with  "Rochester,"  and  afforded  the  ac- 
tress very  good  scope  for  her  great  talent,  but  the  character 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  although  a  secondary  part  in  the  play, 
made  such  a  favorable  impression  on  Mrs.  Hayne  that  she 
asked  Mr.  Tullidge  if  he  could  write  her  a  play  of  Elizabeth, 
making  the  Queen  a  star  character  for  her.  She  believed 
from  what  Mr.  Tullidge  had  done  in  "Eleanor  de  Vere"  that 
he  could  write  a  great  play  of  Elizabeth.  Tullidge  felt  that 
he  had  a  great  subject;  it  was  a  favorite  theme,  however, 
and  one  on  which  he  was  thoroughly  posted,  and  encouraged 
by  Mrs  Hayne's  faith  in  his  ability,  he  at  once  commenced 
the  task.  "The  labor  we  delight  in  physics  pain,"  and  Eliza- 
beth became  a  labor  of  love  with  Edward  Tullidge,  for  he 
was  very  enthusiastic  in  his  love  of  Julia  Dean,  both  as  a 
woman  and  as  an  artist;  and  so  familiar  with  all  the  heroes 
of  Elizabeth's  court,  that  his  task,  though  Herculean,  was  a 
pleasant  one,  and  before  Julia  Dean  was  ready  to  leave  Salt 
Lake,  Tullidge  had  completed  a  great  historical  play,  "Eliza- 
beth of  England."  It  was  with  a  view  of  presenting  it  in 
New  York  that  Mrs.  Hayne  (now  Cooper)  went  there  soon 
after  her  departure.  Before  she  had  concluded  any  arrange- 
ment for  its  production,  however,  Ristori,  the  great  Italian 
actress,  loomed  up  on  the  dramatic  horizon  in  Elizabeth. 
She  had  crowned  all  her  former  achievements  in  a  great 
triumph  in  this  same  Elizabeth  of  England.  Although  the 
play  was  written  by  an  Italian  author  (Giogimetta)  and 
was  not  as  true  to  history  as  the  Tullidge  play,  it  filled  the 
particular  historical  niche  so  far  as  the  stage  is  concerned. 
Ristori  had  a  great  success  with  this  play,  both  in  Europe 
and  this  country.  It  must  have  broken  Julia  Dean's  heart 
professionally.  She  might  have  been  the  first  in  the  field,  at 
least  in  this  country,  if  she  had  not  dilly-dallied.  She  was 
having  a  delightful  honeymoon  and  was  too  indifferent  in 
this  important  affair,  and  when  the  advent  of  the  great 
Italian  in  Elizabeth  awoke  her  from  her  reverie,  her  oppor- 
tunity had  gone  and  Tullidge's  Elizabeth  never  saw  the  light. 
Very  keen  indeed  was  the  disappointment  of  the  author. 
Julia  Dean  was  his  ideal  for  Elizabeth,  and  when  he  found 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         53 

to  his  amazement  that  the  Italians  (author  and  actress) 
had  gained  the  field  ahead  of  them,  poor  Tullidge  went  crazy 
with  grief,  and  for  a  time  had  to  be  confined  in  the  city 
prison,  there  being  no  asylum  in  Utah  at  that  time.  Mr. 
Lyne,  who  read  the  play  to  a  large  audience  in  Salt  Lake, 
pronounced  it  one  of  the  greatest  historical  plays  he  had  ever 
read. 

Whether  the  great  disappointment  had  any  effect  in 
hastening  Mrs.  Cooper's  death  or  not  can  not  be  known,  but 
"it  is  pitiful,  'twas  wondrous  pitiful,"  that  she  did  not  live 
longer  to  enjoy  her  new-found  happiness,  and  add  a  crown- 
ing glory  to  her  brilliant  career,  for  she  was  without  doubt 
the  greatest  favorite  of  her  day  in  America,  and  Americans 
everywhere  would  have  hailed  her  with  delight  in  any  new 
achievement.  She  only  lived  about  a  year  after  her  marriage 
to  Mr.  Cooper.  She  died  in  New  York,  and  was  buried  in 
Greenwood  Cemetery.  The  news  of  her  demise  was  re- 
ceived with  profound  sorrow  by  her  numerous  Salt  Lake 
admirers,  and  many  a  silent  tear  paid  tribute  to  her  memory. 

"There  is  a  destiny  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough  hew  them  as  we  will." 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  C.  E.  Johnson,  our  pop- 
ular photographer,  I  am  enabled  to  append  the  following 
information  in  relation  to  Julia  Dean's  death  and  burial : 

THE  UNMARKED  GRAVE  OF  JULIA  DEAN. 
NEW  YORK,  August  26,  1897. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Dramatic  Mirror : 

SIR: — While  recently  walking  through  the  beautiful 
Laurel  Grove  Cemetery  at  Port  Jervis,  New  York,  the  aged 
caretaker  called  my  attention  to  a  good-sized  circular  burial 
plot  overlooking  a  lake  in  the  centre  of  which,  surrounded 
by  mountain  laurel  shrubs  and  lilac  bushes,  is  a  sunken 
mound  under  which  the  venerable  keeper  declared  rested 
"as  great  and  fine  a  looking  actress  as  the  country  ever  had," 
and  further  stated  that  "much  of  a  time  was  made  over  her 
years  ago  in  New  York."  Also  that  "when  her  body  was 
brought  on  here  a  big  crowd  of  theatre  folks  came  on  to 
see  'ier  buried  and  they  cried  over  her  open  grave." 

Becoming  thoroughly  interested,  I  carefully  noted  the 
location  of  the  actress'  lot,  and  immediately  visited  the  little 


54         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

cemetery  office  on  the  grounds,  and  in  looking  over  the  ad- 
mirably kept  records,  I  was  astonished  to  find  that  it  rep- 
resented the  grave  of  a  fair  member  of  the  dramatic  profes- 
sion whose  tomb  had  been  entirely  lost  sight  of,  and  dramatic 
historians  and  editors  have  been  unable  for  years  to  en- 
lighten those  of  their  readers  who  sought  to  discover  her 
grave  rest.  Beneath  this  mound  rests  all  that  is  mortal  of 
the  once  lovely  Juliet  of  the  American  stage — Julia  Dean. 

The  complete  record  of  the  Laurel  Grove  Cemetery 
reads : 

"Name — Julia  Dean-Hayne-Cooper. 

"Place  and  time  of  nativity — Pleasant  Valley,  Near 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  July  21,  1830. 

"Names  of  parents — Edwin  and  Julia  Dean. 

"Age — Thirty-five  years. 

"Place  and  date  of  death — New  York  City,  May  19, 
1866. 

"Cause  of  death— Childbirth. 

"Second  .husband's  name — James  G.  Cooper. 

"Buried  in  Lot  No.  3,  Section  B,  owned  by  her  father- 
in-law,  Mathew  H.  Cooper. 

"Remains  of  deceased  first  placed  in  the  Marble  Ceme- 
tery General  Receiving  Vault,  Second  Street,  New  York 
City.  Transferred  to  Laurel  Grove  Cemetery,  Port  Jervis, 
April  1 6,  1868." 

The  lone  cemetery  official  states  all  of  Julia  Dean's 
kindred  passed  away  years  ago,  and  together  they  are  buried 
in  the  old  Clove  graveyard  at  Sussex,  N.  J. 

At  the  time  of  their  deaths,  they  were  in  reduced  cir- 
cumstances, and  while  still  well-to-do,  years  before  Julia 
Dean's  demise  they  acquired  this  Port  Jervis  burial  lot  that 
she  might  await  the  resurrection  in  the  place  where  her 
childhood  days  were  so  pleasantly  passed. 

At  the  foot  of  the  eminent  actress'  grave  slumbers  the 
unnamed  girl  infant  for  whom  Julia  Dean  surrendered  her 
illustrious  life. 

None  of  her  relatives  were  ever  able  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment over  her  remains,  and  it  seems  a  pity  that  this  exqui- 
site actress  of  another  generation  should  forever  sleep  in 
an  unrecorded  sepulchre. 

Having  heard  and  read  that  the  noble  Actors'  Fund  of 
New  York  has  caused' many  a  granite  tombstone  to  be  erected 
over  the  graves  of  their  worthy  comrades,  and  as  Julia  Dean 
was  so  sweet  and  accomplished  an  artiste,  I  thought  that  by 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         55 

calling  attention  to  this  forgotten  and  out  of  the  way  tomb 
through  the  columns  of  the  most  powerful  of  America's 
dramatic  journals,  The  Dramatic  Mirror,  it  might  result  in 
placing  a  modest  memorial  stone  of  granite  at  the  head  of 
the  mound  under  which  so  peacefully  reposes  Julia  Dean, 
whose  splendid  genius  Dion  Boucicault  compared  to  that 
of  another  gifted  and  beautiful  daughter  of  the  drama,  the 
ideal  Juliet,  Adelaide  Neilson,  who  awaits  the  final  call  in 
distant  England,  beneath  an  imposing  mortuary  memorial, 
thanks  to  the  influence  of  the  loyal  William  Winter. 

LOVER  OF  THE  STAGE. 


56         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

SEASON  OF  '66-' 6f. 

After  the  close  of  this  eventful  season,  Mr.  George 
Waldron,  who  had  played  the  leading  support  to  Mrs. 
Hayne  and  become  an  established  favorite,  drifted  away 
from  Salt  Lake,  going  into  Montana ;  returning  a  year  or  so 
later  in  conjunction  with  Mrs.  Waldron.  He  had  found 
his  mate  and  brought  her  to  Salt  Lake  to  make  her  ac- 
quainted with  his  many  friends  there.  George  tried  very 
earnestly  to  get  a  Salt  Lake  wife.  It  looked  for  a  while  as 
if  Miss  Sarah  Alexander  was  destined  to  fill  that  place; 
she  certainly  filled  George's  eye.  He  was  very  much  en- 
amored of  the  petite  and  lithesome  Sarah,  but  the  expected 
union  did  not  materialize,  and  George  sought  pastures  new, 
and  ere  long  returned,  bringing  a  beautiful  wife  with  him. 
Meantime,  Sarah  had  drifted  off  to  the  East  in  company 
with  a  literary  lady  named  Lisle  Lester.  They  took  with 
them  Sarah's  little  niece,  her  dead  sister's  baby,  Baby  Fin- 
layson,  then  but  two  years  old.  Miss  Finlayson,  under  her 
aunt's  careful  guidance  and  training,  developed  into  a  very 
clever  and  capable  actress,  and  for  many  years  now  has 
been  holding  leading  positions  in  prominent  companies  and 
theatres.  She  is  known  professionally  as  Lisle  Leigh. 

The  Waldrons  played  a  short  engagement  and  then 
bade  a  long  farewell  to  Salt  Lake  and  the  West.  At  this  writ- 
ing George  Waldron  has  been  dead  for  ten  years,  his  wife, 
a  son  and  a  daughter  survive  him ;  all  follow  the  stage  suc- 
cessfully. 

During  the  season  of  '65  and  '66,  there  were  few 
changes  in  the  supporting  stock  company.  Mr.  Waldron 
doing  the  leads,  lightened  considerably  the  labors  of  the 
"leading  man,"  Mr.  D.  McKenzie,  who  was  quite  content 
to  escape  the  onerous  study  the  leading  parts  would  have 
imposed,  and  play  something  easier.  Before  the  beginning 
of  this  season,  Mr.  H.  B.  Clawson  had  retired  altogether 
from  the  field  as  an  actor,  although  still  one  of  the  managers 
of  the  house,  and  Mr.  Phil  Margetts  was  the  acknowledged 
premier  comedian  of  the  company.  Mr.  John  T.  Caine,  too, 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         57 

Clawson's  associate  manager,  and  also  stage  manager, 
yielded  up  his  line  of  parts  to  John  S.  Lindsay  and  de- 
voted himself  exclusively  to  the  duties  of  stage  manager, 
which  in  the  old  "stock"  days  meant  far  more  than  that  of- 
fice means  today.  "Why,  in  the  elder  day  to  be  a  'stage 
manager'  was  greater  than  to  be  a  king,"  in  any  of  the  plays. 
Briefly  enumerated,  his  duties  wrere :  First,  to  read  carefully 
and  then  cast  all  the  plays.  The  casting  of  a  play  is  a  most 
important  affair.  It  must  be  done  with  great  care  and  con- 
sideration so  as  to  get  the  best  results,  and  at  the  same  time 
each  actor  his  "line"  of  parts  as  near  as  practicable ;  then 
he  must  write  out  the  cast,  and  hang  it  up  in  the  case  in 
the  green  room — write  out  all  "calls"  for  rehearsals,  and 
hang  them  up  in  the  case.  Then  he  must  direct  all  rehearsals. 
To  do  this,  he  must  study  out  all  the  "business"  of  the  play 
in  advance  of  the  rehearsals,  so  he  will  be  able  to  direct  in- 
telligently. When  a  "star"  is  rehearsing,  he  generally  di- 
rects the  rehearsal,  .thus  relieving  the  stage  manager  of  a 
great  responsiblity ;  but  he  must  be  around,  and  see  what 
is  required  for  the  play  in  the  way  of  scenery  and  properties 
and  make  out  complete  and  detailed  plots  for  scene-men  and 
property-men,  and  in  this  particular  case  where  the  theatre 
furnished  the  actors  with  all  wardrobes  (except  modern 
clothes),  the  stage  manager  had  also  to  make  out  a  costume 
plot.  The  costumer  would  then  distribute  the  wardrobe  for 
the  play  according  to  his  best  judgment,  and  the  conceit  or 
fancy  of  the  actor,  which  often  made  the  costumer's  duty  a 
perplexing  one,  for  actors  are  so  full  of  conceits  and  fancies 
that  they  are  a  hard  lot  to  please. 

In  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  a  first-class  copyist  was  con- 
stantly employed  in  copying  out  parts — books  were  not  so 
easily  procured  in  those  days.  It  took  from  three  to  four 
weeks  to  get  a  book  from  New  York,  so  where  the  manager 
had  but  one  book  all  the  parts  had  to  be  copied,  and  the  stage 
manager  had  to  have  his  plays  selected  well  ahead,  so  as  to 
give  the  copyist  plenty  of  time  to  get  parts  ready  for  distri- 
bution. Besides  these  duties,  the  stage  manager  had  to 
write  out  all  the  "copy"  for  advertisements  and  posters  and 
house  programs,  see  to  the  painting  of  new  scenes,  and  the 
making  of  new  properties ;  also,  any  new  costumes  that  had 
to  be  made.  His  decision  was  final  in  all  these  matters,  so 
that  the  stage  manager  of  the  "old  stock"  days  was  no  sine- 
cure. Mr.  Caine  filled  the  position  with  rare  ability,  and  his 
regime  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  was  distinguished  for  its 


58        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

prompt  executive  alertness,  and  the  utter  absence  of  any 
trifling  or  inattention  to  business. 

One  important  accession  there  was  to  the  company  just 
before  this  engagement,  that  of  Miss  Annie  Asenith  Adams. 
Miss  Adams  made  her  debut  on  the  25th  of  July,  1865,  (the 
same  night  that  Julia  Dean-Hayne  and  the  Potter  Com- 
pany arrived  in  Salt  Lake),  in  the  character  of  Grace  Otis 
in  the  "People's  Lawyer,"  W.  C.  Dunbar  being  the  "Solon 
Shingle"  on  the  occasion.  Her  maiden  effort  proved  very 
successful  and  satisfactory  to  the  management,  and  during 
Julia  Dean's  long  engagement  she  proved  to  be  a  valuable 
acquisition  to  the  stock  company.  She  made  rapid  progress 
in  the  dramatic  art,  and  before  the  close  of  the  season  had 
attained  a  prominent  position  in  the  company  which  she 
held  with  credit  to  herself  and  satisfaction  to  the  public  until 
1874,  when  the  stock  company  was  virtually  retired  to  give 
place  to  the  "combination"  system  which  then  came  into 
vogue. 

On  August  1 5th,  1869,  a  ^tle  niore  than  four  years 
after  her  debut,  Miss  Adams  was  married  to  Mr.  James  H. 
Kiskadden.  Between  the  time  of  her  debut  and  her  mar- 
riage, Asenith  (she  was  always  called  "Senith"  in  those 
days)  was  not  only  a  favorite  with  the  public,  but  she  had  a 
number  of  ardent  admirers  among  the  "opposite  sex." 
There  was  quite  a  rivalry  for  her  affections  between  several 
members  of  the  company,  but  the  most  ardent  of  them  were 
already  married,  and  although  they  did  not  consider  that  a 
bar  to  their  hopes,  in  Annie's  case  they  were  not  eligible ; 
so  the  chief  rivalry  existed  on  the  outside  of  the  theatre. 
Mr.  Kiskadden,  or  "Jim,"  as  he  was  universally  called  by 
his  acquaintances,  was  cashier  in  his  brother  William's 
bank  (the  location  is  the  identical  room  where  Walker  Broth- 
ers' Bank  is  today).  Jim  was  a  dashing  sort  of  fellow, 
big  and  manly,  with  a  determined  kind  of  air,  that  seemed 
to  say,  "Things  must  go  my  way."  He  drew  a  good  salary, 
dressed  well,  and  always  wore  immaculate  linen,  his  shirt 
front  always  illuminated  with  a  large  diamond.  He  was  in- 
clined to  "sporting,"  and  was  recognized  as  the  champion 
billiard  player  of  the  town  in  those  days.  How  much  appre- 
hension "Jim"  endured  regarding  "Senith's"  married  suit- 
ors in  the  theatre  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  it  is 
probable  she  set  his  doubts  at  rest  on  that  score  by  assuring 
him  that  she  would  never  marry  an  already  married  man. 
She  had  seen  enough  of  that  to  make  her  dread  it.  How- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         59 

ever  this  might  be,  "Jim"  had  a  rival  and  a  dangerous  one 
in  the  person  of  Mr.  Jack  O'Neil.  Jack  was  beyond  ques- 
tion the  handsomer  fellow  of  the  two ;  indeed,  he  was  hand- 
some as  a  prince,  always  dressed  superbly  and  was  one  of 
the  most  attractive  looking  men  in  Salt  Lake.  Jack  was 
very  much  infatuated  with  the  rising  young  actress  and 
missed  no  opportunity  to  make  known  to  her  his  apprecia- 
tion of  her  talents  and  his  admiration  and  adoration  of  her- 
self. The  rivalry  between  Jack  and  Jim  was  at  white  heat 
for  a  spell,  and  it  would  not  have  been  very  much  of  a  sur- 
prise to  their  intimates  if  there  had  been  a  challenge  sent  and 
accepted,  and  a  duel  fought  over  the  young  Mormon  ac- 
tress. Unfortunately  for  Jack  and  his  aspirations  for  the 
lady's  affections,  he  was  a  professional  sport,  and  that  was 
against  him.  He  had  no  other  profession,  and  handsome 
and  cavalierly  as  he  could  be,  he  was  classed  as  a  gambler ; 
while  Jim  could  flip  the  pasteboards  just  as  skillfully,  and 
lay  them  all  out  at  billiards,  he  did  not  follow  it  for  a  "stiddy 
liven,"  but  held  the  cashier's  box  in  his  brother's  bank, 
for  a  steady  job,  and  only  sported  on  the  side,  and  so  it  came 
to  pass  that  in  the  course  of  time  Jim  distanced  his  hand- 
some rival  and  bore  off  the  prize.  Many  of  "Senith's"  friends 
regretted  this,  as  Jim  did  not  belong  to  the  household  of 
faith,  but  was  a  rank,  out-spoken  Gentile,  utterly  opposed 
to  Mormon  ways,  and  not  afraid  to  say  so.  Whereas  all  of 
"Senith's"  folks  were  staunch  adherents  of  the  Mormon 
faith  and  were  striving  to  live  their  religion  in  all  its  phases. 
So  they  did  not  rejoice  over  "Senith's"  marriage  to  a  Gen- 
tile (as  all  non-Mormons  were  called — Jews  included). 
They  regarded  it  as  equivalent  to  apostasy  from  the  faith 
in  which  she  had  been  reared,  periling  her  soul's  salvation. 
She  was  not  appalled,  however,  by  the  gloomy  and  hopeless 
pictures  some  of  her  friends  were  kind  enough  to  paint  for 
her,  and  bravely  married  the  man  she  had  set  her  heart 
upon  and  stuck  by  him  through  thick  and  thin,  sunshine  and 
storm,  prosperity  and  adversity.  On  November  nth,  -1872, 
Maude  Kiskadden  was  born,  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
Salt  Lake  Theatre,  and  before  she  was  a  year  old  made  her 
debut  on  the  stage  where  her  mother  was  a  debutante  some 
eight  years  before.  It  looks  now  as  if  it  were  fate,  as  if 
she  was  predestined  for  a  great  stage  career.  There  was  an 
emergency  and  Maude,  not  yet  a  year  old,  was  there  to  fill  it. 
It  happened  in  the  following  manner.  In  those  palmy  days 
of  the  profession,  the  old  stock  days  as  they  are  now  called, 


60  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

it  was  customary  to  supplement  the  play  with  a  farce — no 
matter  how  long  the  play — even  if  a  five-act  tragedy,  the 
evening's  performance  was  not  considered  complete  without 
a  farce  to  conclude  with.  On  this  particular  occasion,  the 
farce  was  the  "Lost  Child/'  a  favorite  with  our  comedian, 
Mr.  Phil  Margetts.  He  played  Jones,  a  fond  and  loving 
parent,  who  goes  distracted  over  his  lost  child.  Instead  of 
providing  a  real  baby,  as  the  property  man  had  been  in- 
structed to  do,  he  had  a  grotesque-looking  rag  baby,  not  at 
all  to  the  comedian's  taste  in  the  matter.  Millard,  the  prop- 
erty man,  declared  he  had  been  unable  to  procure  a  live 
baby,  nobody  was  willing  to  lend  a  baby  for  the  part — older 
children  he  could  get,  but  he  could  not  get  a  baby,  and 
the  rag  baby  was  the  best  that  he  could  do  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, and  on  such  short  notice.  Margetts  was  in  dis- 
tress. "What,  in  Utah  !"  he  exclaimed.  "The  idea !"  Where 
babies  are  our  best  crop,  to  be  unable  to  procure  one  for  his 
favorite  farce.  It  was  simply  preposterous,  absurd,  incred- 
ible ;  he  objected  to  play  with  nothing  but  a  miserable  make- 
shift of  a  rag  baby.  In  agony  he  appealed  to  the  stage  man- 
ager, Mr.  Caine,  to  know  if  the  farce  was  to  be  ruined  or 
made  a  double  farce  by  the  introduction  into  it  of  a  gro- 
tesque doll  like  that !  It  would  be  worse  than  a  Punch  ana 
Judy  show.  Sudden  as  a  bolt  from  a  clouded  sky,  while  the 
altercation  was  still  at  its  height,  Mrs.  Kiskadden  appeared 
in  the  centre  of  the  stage  with  her  baby  in  her  arms,  and 
in  a  good-natured  tone  that  ended  all  the  trouble,  exclaimed, 
"Here's  Maude,  use  her !"  Maude  was  indeed  a  good  sub- 
stitute for  the  inartistic-looking  "prop"  the  property  man 
had  provided.  Phil  was  happy  and  played  the  distracted 
parent  with  a  realism  and  a  pathos  he  never  could  have 
summoned  for  the  rag  baby.  When  the  cue  came,  Maude 
was  ushered  into  the  mimic  scene,  making  her  first  entrance 
on  a  large  tray  carried  by  a  waiter.  Then  she  was  taken  from 
the  tray  into  somebody's  arms  and  tossed  from  one  nurse  to 
another  throughout  the  farce,  until  finally,  as  it  ends,  she  is 
lodged  safely  in  the  arms  of  Mr.  Jones,  her  distracted  father. 
To  her  credit,  be  it  recorded,  she  never  whimpered  or  made 
any  outcry  or  showed  any  signs  of  alarm,  but  played  her  first 
part  bravely,  though  perhaps  unconsciously ;  winning  the 
admiration  and  love  of  the  entire  company.  It  was  a  lucky 
accident  that  Maude  was  in  the  theatre  that  evening,  for  her 
mother  was  not  in  the  habit  of  bringing  her  to  the  theatre 
when  she  had  any  one  at  home  to  take  care  of  her,  but  this 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         61 

evening  was  the  "nurse's  evening  out,"  and  "Maudie"  had  to 
be  toted  to  the  theatre  and  carefully  put  to  sleep  before  mam- 
ma could  "make  up"  and  go  through  her  part.  Here  she  was 
safely  stowed  away  in  a  safe  and  quiet  corner  of  the  green 
room,  where  she  had  been  blissfully  reposing  all  through  the 
first  play,  and  was  now  rather  rudely  awakened  to  fill  the 
distressing  emergency. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  from  this  narration  that  Maude 
Adams  was  virtually  "born  to  the  stage,"  her  mother  study- 
ing assiduously  and  playing  parts  both  before  and  after 
Maude's  birth,  often  taking  Maudie  with  her,  both  to  re- 
hearsals and  performances,  so  that  she  became  a  familiar 
little  object  in  the  theatre  before  she  could  walk  or  talk, 
and  long  before  she  could  ever  essay  a  speaking  part  she 
was  the  pet  of  the  Green  Room. 

We  had  a  Green  Room  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  in  those 
days,  and  a  very  capacious  and  comfortable  one,  too.  Such 
a  commodious  and  luxurious  adjunct  is  scarcely  known  in 
the  theatres  today.  Here  the  actors  could  retire  between  the 
acts  or  during  the  scenes  they  were  not  engaged  in,  and 
study  over  their  lines,  or  if  already  easy  in  their  parts,  pass 
the  time  in  reading  or  social  chat.  It  was  the  prompter's 
business  to  send  the  "call  boy"  to  the  Green  Room  and  all 
dressing  rooms  to  "call  the  act,"  a  few  minutes  before  he 
was  ready  to  "ring  up."  The  act  being  called,  each  actor 
was  required  to  be  at  his  entrance  on  time ;  if  he  should  be 
late  and  make  a  "stage  wait,"  the  stage  manager  might  repri- 
mand him,  and  impose  a  fine.  Fines  were  also  imposed  for 
being  tardy  at  rehearsals.  There  was  seldom  any  occasion 
for  the  enforcement  of  this  penalty,  except  in  the  case  of 
"Jim"  Hardie.  "Jim"  was  a  notorious  laggard,  and  often 
kept  the  company  waiting  for  him.  On  one  occasion  the 
company  had  been  waiting  his  arrival  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes,  when  he  strode  in  very  hurriedly  and  taking  the 
centre  of  the  stage,  took  off  his  hat  and  wiping  the  perspira- 
tion from  his  brow,  began  an  apology  to  the  stage  manager 
for  being  late.  He  had  only  just  begun  to  talk  when  a  gen- 
eral laugh  broke  the  gravity  of  the  occasion.  Jim  had  just 
come  from  the  barber's  where  he  had  his  head  shaved,  and 
his  entire  scalp  down  to  the  hat  line  was  as  smoth  as  a  billiard 
ball.  His  monkish  appearance  created  much  merriment, 
in  which  the  stage  manager  and  Jim  himself  joined.  Jim  at 
a  very  early  age  showed  a  tendency  to  baldness,  and  he  had 
been  told  that  shaving  the  head  was  not  only  a  check  to  it, 


62        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

but  would  stimulate  the  growth  of  the  hair,  so  he  had  to  get 
his  head  shaved,  even  though  he  kept  the  rehearsal  waiting. 
I  think  the  fine  was  omitted  on  this  occasion,  owing  to  the 
fun  the  company  had  over  it. 

In  the  fall  of  1874,  after  a  connection  of  nine  years 
with  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  Mrs.  Kiskadden  and  her  hus- 
band, no  longer  a  cashier,  the  bank  having  been  long  a 
thing  of  the  past,  removed  to  Virginia  City,  where  Miss 
Adams  was  engaged  with  a  number  of  others  from  the  Salt 
Lake  Theatre  Company,  including  the  writer,  to  form  a 
stock  company  for  Mr.  John  Piper,  the  Virginia  City  man- 
ager. "Maudie,"  now  nearly  two  years  old,  formed  one  of 
the  party.  After  playing  a  season  with  Mr.  Piper,  Miss 
Adams  went  to  San  Francisco,  where  her  husband  had  pre- 
ceded her  some  months  previous,  and  secured  a  good  position 
as  bookkeeper  for  the  firm  of  Park  &  Lacy.  Here  they  made 
their  home  for  about  eight  years,  Annie  playing  at  the  San 
Francisco  theatres  whenever  she  could  get  an  engagement, 
and  making  occasional  excursions  with  dramatic. companies 
into  the  neighboring  cities. 

In  September,  1877,  before  she  was  five  years  old, 
"Maudie"  played  her  first  speaking  part  with  Joe  Emmett  in 
"Fritz"  at  the  Bush  Street  Theatre.  When  the  question  of 
Maudie  playing  in  Joe  Emmett's  piece  was  under 
consideration  by  Mrs.  Kiskadden  and  she  informed 
Mr.  Kiskadden  she  had  an  offer  from  Mr.  Emmett 
for  Maudie  to  play  the  child's  part,  Mr.  Kiskad- 
den did  not  encourage  the  idea;  he  had  a  plenty 
of  the  theatre  as  it  was,  so  he  rather  bluffly  remarked: 
"No,  indeed,  we  don't  want  Maude  to  make  a  fool  of  her- 
self; one  actress  in  the  family  is  quite  enough."  Maude 
looked  up  with  a  touch  of  his  own  determination  in  her 
voice :  "Papa,  I  won't  make  a  fool  of  myself."  She  was  ir- 
resistible— her  papa  had  to  consent.  Her  second  part  was 
Crystal  in  Herne  and  Belasco's  "Hearts  of  Oak,"  then 
played  under  the  name  of  "Chums."  She  afterwards  played 
a  part  with  Oliver  Doud  Byron — and  in  1878,  when  six  years 
old,  played  little  "Adriene"  in  "A  Celebrated  Case"  at  the 
Baldwin  Theatre.  In  this  character  she  made  a  decided 
hit.  After  the  run  of  the  play  at  the  Baldwin,  it  was  taken 
to  Portland,  Oregon,  and  produced  under  John  Maguire's 
management  at  the  New  Market  Theatre,  with  Annie 
Adams  and  little  Maude  specially  featured  in  the  cast,  the 
writer  playing  "Jean  Renan"  in  this  production.  "Ten 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         63 

Nights  in  a  Bar  Room"  was  then  put  on,  little  Maude  being 
made  a  feature  as  Mary  Morgan,  the  writer  playing  "Joe." 
After  the  close  of  the  season  at  the  New  Market  Theatre, 
the  company  went  out  under  the  writer's  management  and 
played  the  Puget  Sound  circuit  in  those  two  plays,  little 
Maude  being  made  a  special  feature. 

During  this  trip  Maude  had  her  first  "Benefit"  at  Walla 
Walla,  Washington.  She  was  "put  up"  for  a  "benefit,"  ex- 
tensively advertised,  and  helped  out  the  company's  treas- 
ury— after  netting  something  liberal  for  her.  In  this  tour 
Maude  played  in  all  the  Puget  Sound  towns  from  Portland 
to  Victoria  and  all  the  principal  towns  of  Washington.  At  its 
conclusion,  she  and  her  mother  returned  to  San  Francisco, 
and  she  was  not  seen  again  in  public  for  some  years.  Mr. 
Kiskadden  died  in  San  Francisco  in  '83,  and  Mrs.  Kiskad- 
den  took  his  remains  to  Salt  Lake  for  burial.  There  she  set- 
tled down  for  a  time  and  sent  Maudie  to  school.  Here  in  the 
city  of  her  birth  she  attended  school  for  the  next  four  or  five 
years,  but  always  had  a  yearning  to  get  back  to  the  stage ; 
and  eventually  her  mother  secured  an  engagement  for  her- 
self and  Maude  in  "My  Geraldine"  and  the  "Paymaster"  un- 
der the  manager  of  Duncan  B.  Harrison.  From  that  she  got 
into  Frohman's  "Lost  Paradise,"  and  from  that  on  her  his- 
tory is  known  to  the  theatre  world. 


64  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
SEASON  OF  '66-'67. 

An  Interesting  Prayer  Meeting, 

Julia  Dean  Hayne's  final  appearance  closed  the  fourth 
season  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  counting  the  opening 
one  which  only  lasted  from  March  8th,  '62,  to  the  end  of 
April,  about  eight  weeks,  the  Irwin  season  of  '63  and  '64, 
the  Pauncefort  season  of  '64  and  '65,  and  the  Julia  Dean 
Hayne  season  of  '65  and  '66. 

Up  to  this  time  the  only  compensation  the  stock  com- 
pany received  was  a  pro  rata  dividend  of  the  benefits  given 
at  the  end  of  each  season — no  one  had  been  put  on  a  salary. 
The  stars,  of  course,  got  good  liberal  percentages  or  salar- 
ies, but  even  the  leading  people  of  the  stock  company  real- 
ized but  a  very  meager  compensation  from  the  two  perform- 
ances that  were  gotten  up  as  benefits,  one  for  the  ladies  of  the 
company  and  the  other  for  the  gentlemen —  the  two  nights' 
receipts  were  aggregated  and  divided  up  among  the  com- 
pany according  to  their  respective  merits  or  worth  to  the 
management.  These  two  benefit  performances  alone  prob- 
ably aggregated  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  which,  divided 
up  among  about  thirty  performers,  actors  and  musicians, 
did  not  prove  satisfactory  to  a  number  of  the  company — 
more  especially  some  of  the  orchestra.  As  a  consequence, 
the  ensuing  season  approaching,  the  salary  question  came 
to  the  front  again  very  strongly,  and  the  "management'' 
found  a  well-grounded  reluctance  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
pany to  enter  upon  a  new  season's  work  without  a  certain 
and  satisfactory  compensation.  This  feeling  was  even 
stronger  among  the  orchestra  than  among  the  stage  players, 
a  number  of  them  being  quite  outspoken  in  their  sentiment : 
"No  pay,  no  play."  The  principal  agitator  among  the  musi- 
cians was  Mark  Croxall,  the  brilliant  young  cornetist  re- 
cently from  England.  Mark  could  not  see  the  propriety  or 
consistency  of  playing  to  help  pay  for  the  theatre.  He  had 
not  been  used  to  that  kind  of  thing  in  England,  and  although 
he  had  been  playing  but  a  very  short  time  as  compared 
with  the  majority,  both  of  the  orchestra  and  the  dramatic 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  65 

company,  he  vowed  he  would  play  no  longer  without  a 
stipulated  salary.  This,  of  course,  aroused  all  the  others  to 
a  certain  show  of  opposition.  The  leader  of  the  orchestra. 
Prof.  Thomas,  or  "Charlie,"  as  he  was  affectionately  called 
by  his  familiars,  was  probably  as  dissatisfied  with  the  exist- 
ing regime  as  Croxall  or  David  Evans,  the  second  violin, 
who  was  another  Britisher  of  recent  importation  and  quite 
pronounced  in  his  views  about  the  way  the  theatre  should 
be  run.  Prof.  Thomas  was  not  of  the  stuff  that  kickers  are 
made  of,  and  could  doubtless  have  been  managed  with  the 
majority  of  his  orchestra  had  it  not  been  for  the  recal- 
citrant Croxall,  and  the  equally  pugnacious  Evans.  The  dis- 
satisfaction spread  rapidly  and  alarmingly  to  the  manage- 
ment, until  the  entire  dramatic  company  as  well  as  the  or- 
chestra, was  in  a  state  of  semi-rebellion.  All  the  actors  and 
most  of  the  musicians  had  other  occupations,  as  I  have 
stated  in  a  former  chapter,  and  now  the  number  of  perform- 
ances and  rehearsals  had  increased  their  work  to  such  an 
extent  they  could  not  see  how  they  could  give  satisfaction 
to  their  various  employers  and  keep  up  their  work  at  the 
theatre  too.  Some  of  these  declared  it  had  to  be  one  thing 
or  the  other,  the  theatre  now  demanded  the  greater  part  of 
their  time,  and  the  employers  had  in  several  instances  inti- 
mated that  they  would  have  to  give  up  the  theatre  or  be 
replaced  in  their  employ  by  others.  Mr.  David  McKenzie, 
the  leading  man  of  the  company,  held  a  clerkship  in  Presi- 
dent Young's  or  the  Church  office ;  "Joe"  Simmons,  our  juve- 
nile man,  and  Horace  Whitney,  the  "old  man"  in  the  com- 
pany, also  held  clerkships  in  the  same  office ;  Mr.  W.  C.  Dun- 
bar,  the  Irish  comedian,  was  a  clerk  in  the  "tithing  office," 
so  their  time  went  on  whether  they  were  working  in  the 
"Church  offices"  or  at  the  theatre ;  of  course  all  their  night 
work  at  the  theatre  was  extra  work,  but  the  day  time  they 
put  in  at  the  theatre  they  were  not  docked  for  at  the  office ; 
but  with  the  other  leading  members  of  the  company  it  was 
quite  different ;  the  hours  they  spent  at  the  theatre  in  the  day 
time  was  a  positive  loss  to  them.  Phil  Margetts  was  a 
blacksmith,  Lindsay  and  Hardie  were  carpenters,  Evans  and 
Kelly  were  printers,  and  so  on.  So  that  several  hours  each 
day  spent  in  rehearsal  meant  a  heavy  tax  when  at  the  end 
of  each  week  they  were  docked  for  time  lost,  so  there  was  a 
committee  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  managers,  Clawson 
and  Caine,  and  present  the  situation.  The  managers  being 
only  employees  of  Brigham  Young  and  not  proprietors  or 


66         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

lessees,  passed  the  company's  grievance  up  to  their  chief. 
The  managers  saw  plainly  that  a  crisis  had  come,  and  a  new 
departure  must  be  made.  "The  President,"  accustomed  to 
having  things  his  own  way,  and  with  confidence  in  his  in- 
fluence, thought  he  could  effect  a  compromise,  or  adjust  the 
matter  without  much  trouble  or  cost,  so  in  pursuance  of  this 
idea  a  notice  was  posted  for  all  the  company  and  orchestra 
to  assemble  in  the  Green  Room  of  the  theatre  on  a  certain 
evening  to  consider  the  question  of  salary.  There  was  no 
tardiness  on  that  occasion,  even  "Jim"  Hardie,  notorious 
for  being  tardy,  was  on  time.  Every  employee  of  the  theatre 
was  there  from  the  managers  to  the  night-watchman.  The 
orchestra  was  in  full  force,  and  the  ladies  of  the  company, 
even  to  the  smallest  utility,  were  there,  all  inspired  with  the 
hope  of  being  put  upon  the  theatre  salary  list.  The  Green 
Room  was  found  to  be  too  small  to  accommodate  all  the 
company,  so  the  meeting  was  shifted  to  the  stage,  which 
afforded  the  necessary  room.  President  Young  called  the 
meeting  to  order,  and  requested  the  company  to  join  him  in 
prayer.  It  is  customary  in  the  Mormon  Church  to  open  all 
meetings  with  prayer,  even  political  ones  where  those  pres- 
ent are  all  of  the  household  of  faith.  Brigham  offered  up  a 
fervent  prayer,  asking  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty  upon 
that  meeting,  and  each  and  every  one  present,  that  they 
might  all  see  with  an  eye  single  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
building  up  of  his  Kingdom  here  on  the  earth.  The  prayer 
over,  the  President  arose  and  in  a  brief  but  very  adroit 
speech,  told  the  object  he  had  in  view  in  building  the  theatre, 
the  recreation  and  amusement  of  the  people,  thanked  those 
who  had  contributed  to  that  end,  whether  as  actors  or  musi- 
cians, told  them  that  they  were  missionaries  as  much  as  if 
they  were  called  to  go  out  into  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel,  and  the  Lord  would  bless  their  efforts  just  as  much 
if  they  performed  their  parts  in  the  same  spirit.  He  under- 
stood there  was  some  dissatisfaction,  however,  and  some  of 
the  brethren  thought  it  was  too  much  of  a  tax  upon  their 
time  to  continue  to  do  this  without  proper  compensation. 
He  called  on  the  brethren  to  state  their  feelings  in  regard 
to  this  question  that  he  might  judge  what  was  best  to  do  in 
the  matter.  It  seemed  as  if  the  prayer  and  speech  had  almost 
made  them  forget  that  they  had  any  cause  or  grievance  to 
present,  or  it  had  blunted  the  edge  of  their  courage.  Every 
one  was  expecting  to  see  Mark  Croxall,  the  principal  agita- 
tor, get  up  and  make  a  statement  in  behalf  of  himself  and 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        67 

the  orchestra ;  but  Mark's  courage,  like  that  of  many  an- 
other agitator,  seemed  to  have  sunk  into  his  boots,  when  the 
ordeal  came ;  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  So  the  second  vio- 
linist, David  Evans,  who  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  a 
cripple  from  birth,  pulled  himself  to  a  standing  position  by 
the  aid  of  his  crutches  and  spoke  to  the  question.  He  told 
how  hard  he  had  to  work,  and  what  a  loss  of  time  the  re- 
hearsals and  plays  occasioned  him ;  being  up  so  much  at 
nights,  he  could  not  get  up  very  early  in  the  morning — 
and  could  not  but  lose  several  hours  every  day.  Besides,  he 
said  he  did  not  think  it  right  and  just,  when  the  theatre 
was  taking  in  such  large  sums  of  money  at  every  perform- 
ance, that  those  who  furnished  the  entertainment,  whether 
in  the  art  of  music  or  the  drama,  should  be  expected  to  con- 
tinue to  do  it  gratuitously.  It  was  a  bold,  fearless,  manly 
speech  and  coming  from  a  man  who  was  obliged  to  sling 
himself  along  through  life  on  a  pair  of  crutches,  and  a  re- 
cent comer  from  the  old  country,  it  sent  a  thrill  of  astonish- 
ment through  the  company  and  fired  some  of  the  others 
with  a  spark  of  courage,  too.  Mr.  Phil  Margetts,  the  lead- 
ing comedian,  arose  and  made  an  explanation  of  his  case; 
then  a  number  of  the  other  fellows  followed  suit.  A  sort  of 
"no  pay,  no  play"  sentiment  pervaded  the  entire  company. 
President  Young  saw  here  an  end  of  the  old  method;  he 
discovered  that  a  new  deal  would  have  to  be  made  with  his 
actors  if  he  wanted  to  continue  in  the  amusement  business, 
so  he  tried  an  expedient.  He  was  evidently  a  little  irri- 
tated at  Evans,  the  crippled  shoemaker,  who  had  presumed 
to  take  the  initiative  in  the  affair  and  express  his  views  so 
fearlessly,  inspiring  the  others  with  a  little  of  his  own  cour- 
age, but  Brigham  did  not  show  the  lion's  paw  but  spoke  in 
rather  a  patronizing  way  of  Brother  Evans's  crippled  condi- 
tion, and  said  it  was  right  that  he  should  have  some  addi- 
tional pay,  owing  to  his  misfortune  of  being  a  cripple.  He 
told  Evans  he  could  have  anything  he  needed  out  of  his 
private  store ;  that  if  he  would  leave  his  flour  sack  there,  it 
should  be  regularly  filled,  and  whatever  else  was  there  he 
was  welcome  to  what  he  needed  of  it.  This  savored  a  little 
too  much  of  charity  for  Evans,  who  although  badly  crippled 
in  his  limbs,  was  by  no  means  a  weakling  in  his  brains ; 
and  hurt  a  little  by  the  President's  patronizing  manner,  he 
arose  and  said  about  as  follows : 

"President  Young,  I  have  had  my  flour  sack  at  your 
store  for  more  than  a  month,  and  every  time  I  have  gone  in 


68        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

to  try  and  get  it  filled,  the  clerk  has  told  me  the  flour  was 
all  out."  Evans's  unique  relation  of  the  flour  sack  incident 
injected  a  spark  of  humor  into  the  proceedings  ;  a  suppressed 
titter  ran  through  the  crowd,  and  even  Brigham,  although 
nettled  at  this  unexpected  sally,  could  not  repress  a  grim 
smile. 

That  the  reader  may  better  understand  the  flour  sack 
incident  it  must  be  explained  here  that  what  little  pay  the 
actors  and  musicians  had  been  receiving  for  their  services 
through  the  benefits  was  not  all  in  cash,  but  store  orders 
mostly  on  the  tithing  store.  The  cash  receipts  of  the  theatre 
up  to  this  time  and  indeed  as  late  as  1870  were  probably 
en^-third  of  the  gross  receipts,  the  other  two-thirds  consisting 
of  orders  on  various  stores  or  tithing  pay,  which  consisted  of 
all  kinds  of  home  products — so  that  when  the  "benefits"  were 
divided  up  among  the  company  each  member  got  about  one- 
third  of  his  "divvy"  in  cash  and  the  other  two-thirds  in  store 
orders  and  orders  on  the  tithing  office.  Evans  was  the  pos- 
sessor of  an  order  on  Brigham  Young's  private  store,  and 
he  felt  chagrined  that  he  had  been  so  often  with  that  order 
and  failed  to  draw  it.  Flour  was  flour  in  those  days,  run- 
ning as  high  at  one  time  as  twenty  dollars  per  hundred,  but 
the  uniform  church  or  tithing  office  price  was  six  dollars 
per  hundred,  which  was  what  the  actors  had  to  pay  for  it,  but 
it  was  doled  out  very  sparingly  to  them  at  times  when  it  was 
commanding  high  prices  in  outside  markets.  With  these 
orders  they  drew  about  all  their  provisions  from  the  tithing 
store.  Artemus  Ward  amused  the  world  by  telling  how  the 
Salt  Lake  Theatre  used  to  take  in  exchange  for  tickets  cab- 
bage, potatoes,  wheat,  carrots,  and  even  sucking  pigs  through 
the  box  office  window.  It  was  perhaps  nearer  the  truth  than 
he  himself  suspected,  for  these  tithing  office  orders  were 
good  for  all  these  things. 

After  the  titter  had  subsided  Brigham  arose  again,  and 
answered  Brother  Evans  that  he  was  sorry  he  had  been  dis- 
appointed so,  but  there  really  had  been  a  great  scarcity  of 
flour  during  the  past  month  or  so,  but  he  would  see  to  it  in 
the  future  that  he  would  meet  no  more  disappointments.  To 
Brother  Phil  Margetts  he  made  an  offer  to  come  and  work  in 
his  blacksmith  shop  (Phil  was  running  one  of  his  own) 
and  then  he  need  not  lose  any  time ;  his  pay  would  go  on 
whether  working  in  the  shop  or  in  the  theatre.  Brother 
Lindsay  could  bring  his  carpenter  tools  to  the  theatre  and 
he  could  find  plenty  of  work  for  him  to  fill  up  the  time  be- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        69 

tween  the  rehearsals.  To  others  he  made  similar  proposi- 
tions ;  but  these  suggestions  were  not  in  harmony  with  the 
feelings  of  the  company,  who  thought  they  had  given  their 
time  to  Brother  Brigham  long  enough,  and  now  contended 
with  Brother  Evans,  that  as  they  were  furnishing  the  amuse- 
ments for  the  people,  it  was  only  right  that  they  should  be 
paid  for  their  services,  so  the  result  of  the  meeting  was 
that  the  company  was  put  on  salary.  Salaries  ranged  from 
$15.00  to  $50.00  per  week,  one-third  cash,  the  balance  in 
store  orders  and  tithing  office  pay. 


70  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SEASON  OF  '66  AND  '67. 

The  season  of  '66  and  '67  opened  on  September  8th 
with  Alonzo  R.  Phelps  as  the  star  attraction.  Mr.  Phelps 
opened  in  the  character  of  "Damon"  and  made  a  fairly  good 
showing,  although  he  appeared  to  much  greater  advantage 
in  some  lighter  roles,  and  particularly  as  "Crepin,"  the  Cob- 
bler, in  "A  Wonderful  Woman."  His  engagement  lasted 
two  weeks,  when  the  Irwins  returned  after  an  absence  of 
over  two  years.  They  opened  on  September  29th,  just  in 
time  to  get  well  ready  with  a  repertory  of  plays  for  the  ap- 
proaching conference.  Their  engagement  lasted  up  to  No- 
vember 1 5th,  when  they  departed  for  the  East  and  Salt  Lake 
was  never  favored  with  a  visit  from  them  afterwards.  "Sel" 
Frwin  "died  young  in  years,  not  service,"  after  very  intense 
suffering  for  several  years  from  rheumatism,  which  virtually 
made  a  helpless  cripple  of  him.  He  died  in  New  York  in 
1886,  being  only  a  little  over  fifty  years  of  age.  His  widow, 
Maria  Irwin,  still  survives,  and  up  to  a  recent  date  was 
playing  in  a  road  company.  Harry  Rainforth,  her  son  by 
her  first  marriage,  who  was  a  mere  boy  of  sixteen  when  they 
played  their  first  engagement  in  Salt  Lake,  has  been  for 
many  years  manager  of  the  Pike  Grand  Opera  House,  Cin- 
cinnati, the  associate  and  partner  of  "Bob"  Miles.  It  was 
during  this  last  Irwin  engagement  that  Miss  Nellie  Cole- 
brook,  who  later  on  became  leading  lady  of  the  company, 
made  her  debut.  Her  first  appearance  was  in  the  comedy  of 
"Dominique,  the  Deserter."  The  first  line  she  had  to  speak 
was,  "Oh,  I'm  half  dead  with  fear,"  which  was  literally 
true  of  Miss  Colebrook  on  the  occasion.  She  was  shaking 
like  an  aspen  leaf  in  a  strong  wind,  but  her  nervous  condi- 
tion fitted  the  character  remarkably  well  and  the  lady  sailed 
at  once  into  public  favor.  Miss  Colebrook  was  tall  and 
stately,  with  a  very  winning  face  and  musical  voice ;  she  went 
rapidly  to  the  front,  being  especially  well  suited  to  many  of 
the  leading  roles.  Mrs.  Lydia  Gibson,  the  leading  actress 
of  the  theatre,  died  on  January  8th,  1866,  a  little  less  than 
three  years  after  her  first  appearance.  This  left  a  vacancy 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  71 

in  the  company  difficult  to  fill,  and  afforded  Miss  Colebrook 
many  excellent  opportunities  in  leading  roles,  which  she 
always  filled  satisfactorily,  so  that  by  the  time  Pauncefort 
returned  to  play  his  third  engagement — after  an  absence  01 
more  than  two  years — Miss  Colebrook  was  doing  most  of 
the  leading  female  roles. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Irwins,  the  stock  company 
finished  out  the  season  without  the  assistance  of  a  star,  play- 
ing from  November  I5th  until  after  April  Conference. 
It  was  during  the  conference  that  our  old  friend  George 
Pauncefort,  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  to  most  of  us,  re- 
turned from  San  Francisco  after  an  absence  in  that  metro- 
polis of  more  than  two  years.  He  opened  a  return  engage- 
ment on  April  i6th  in  "Don  Caesar  de  Bazan."  The 
season  was  virtually  over  after  the  April  Conference,  but 
notwithstanding  he  played  to  splendid  business,  he  gave 
repetitions  of  his  previous  plays  and  won  out  splendidly  on 
a  production  of  "Arrah  Na  Pogue,"  in  which  he  had  played 
"Col.  O'Grady"  during  a  successful  run  of  this  play  in  San 
Francisco. 

"A:rrah  Na  Pogue"  drew  good  houses  for  three  or  four 
nights,  and  closed  the  season  of  '66  and  '67.  Robert  Heller 
got  in  a  three  nights  engagement,  commencing  May  the 
2oth,  while  the  company  was  getting  up  in  "Arrah  Na 
Pogue."  He  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  mysterious  sec- 
ond sight  illusions  and  succeeded  in  bewildering  and  mysti- 
fying the  patrons  of  the  theatre  to  an  unusual  degree. 

During  the  last  engagement  of  Pauncefort  most  of  the 
opposite  roles  to  his  own  were  assigned  to  Miss  Colebrook, 
who  had  in  the  past  year,  since  Mrs.  Gibson's  demise,  di- 
vided honors  with  Miss  Adams,  and  owing  to  her  more 
stately  appearance  had  been  entrusted  with  many  of  the 
leading  lady  roles  and  was  an  established  favorite.  Paunce- 
fort, who  had  never  met  her  before  (her  debut  having  oc- 
curred after  his  departure  for  the  coast),  was  much  sur- 
prised and  pleased  to  find  a  new  and  attractive  leading  lady 
in  the  company.  He  took  an  especial  interest  in  her,  and 
she  was  cast  for  all  the  leading  roles  during  his  engagement, 
beginning  with  "Maritana"  in  "Don  Caesar,"  and  including 
"Lady  Macbeth"  and  "Ophelia."  Pauncefort  discovered  that 
she  had  exceptional  dramatic  ability  and  encouraged  her  in 
every  possible  way ;  for  "Miss  Nellie"  was  not  over-confi- 
dent of  her  own  abilities,  and  suffered  keenly  from  nervous- 
ness or  stage  fright,  especially  on  the  first  time  in  a  part; 


72         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

and  to  receive  encouragement  and  compliments  from  a  star 
of  Pauncefort's  acknowledged  luster  was  doubtless  sweet 
and  flattering  to  the  lady,  who  as  yet  was  all  unconscious  of 
the  impression  she  had  made  on  the  susceptible  George. 
"The  fair  Elizabeth  has  caught  my  eye,  and  like  a  new  star, 
lights  onward  to  my  wishes."  Possessed  of  a  sweet  and 
loveable  disposition  and  a  musical  voice  added  to  her 
charms  of  personal  appearance,  Miss  Colebrook  was  a  gen- 
eral favorite,  not  only  with  the  public,  but  with  the  com- 
pany. She  had  numerous  admirers,  and  several  rival  aspir- 
ants for  her  affections,  both  in  the  company  and  out.  With 
what  surprised  and  ill-concealed  chagrin  they  viewed  the 
growing  attentions  of  the  reigning  star  can  better  be  imag- 
ined than  described.  The  princely  George  had  enrolled  him- 
self in  the  list  of  her  devotees  and  it  was  very  much  in  evi- 
dence that  he  was  enamored  of  the  lady,  for  George  had  a 
keen  eye  for  the  beautiful,  and  "a  free  and  open  nature,  too," 
most  susceptible  to  female  charms,  so  he  entered  the  race 
with  the  others  for  the  fair  "Nellie's"  hand.  While  he  was 
considerably  older  than  any  of  his  competitors,  being  now 
close  onto  fifty,  he  probably  had  the  advantage  over  them 
all  in  looks,  being  generally  regarded  as  a  handsome  man, 
and  most  decidedly  he  had  the  advantage  of  experience,  for 
George  had  been  a  gay  Lothario.  He  seemed  in  a  fair  way 
to  carry  off  the  much-coveted  prize.  Notwithstanding  the 
disparity  of  age,  the  fair  "Nellie"  seemed  strongly  attracted 
to  the  princely  George.  Playing  "Ophelia"  to  his  "Hamlet" 
and  "Lady  Macbeth"  to  his  "Macbeth,"  and  a  long  series  of 
opposite  characters  to  him,  he  had  not  failed  to  make  a  pow- 
erful impression  on  her,  and  if  she  had  been  left  to  herself 
without  guidance  or  counsel,  there  is  little  question  but  what 
Pauncefort  would  have  won  her;  but  her  mother  had  more 
penetration,  and  could  see  the  objections  which  "Nellie" 
either  did  not  see,  or  care  to  raise,  so  the  chief  arbitrator 
of  the  Church,  President  Young,  was  appealed  to  by  Miss 
"Nellie's"  mother  to  decide  the  case  for  them.  Brigham  de- 
cided very  quickly  and  positively  against  an  alliance  be- 
tween his  fair  leading  lady  and  the  "stock  star,"  with  a 
great  big  emphatic  No.  He  had  formed  a  strong  prejudice 
against  Pauncefort  during  his  first  engagement,  owing  to 
his  reputed  intimacy  with  Mrs.  Bell,  which  was  rather 
flaunted  in  the  face  of  the  community  on  their  arrival  in 
Salt  Lake.  So  this  ended  the  Pauncefort-Colebrook  ro- 
mance. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         73 

During  this  engagement,  Panncefort  played  in  addition 
to  his  previous  repertory  "The  Dead  Heart/'  "Man  with  the 
Iron  Mask,"  "Lavater,"  and  "Arrah  Na  Pogue."  The  latter 
piece  closed  the  season  on  June  the  I5th,  being  the  fourth 
performance  of  the  piece.  Very  soon  after,  Pauncefort  pur- 
chased a  horse  and  chaise,  fitting  himself  out  with  gun  and 
fishing  tackle  for  a  long  jaunt.  He  headed  for  Portland, 
giving  readings  by  the  way — hunting  and  fishing  by  day — 
and  evenings  entertaining  the  towns  along  his  route.  How 
far  he  got  with  his  one  horse  chaise  is  not  exactly  known, 
but  the  probability  is  he  traded  it  off  before  he  passed  the 
Utah  border  line,  and  took  the  stage  for  Virginia  City,  Ne- 
vada, where  he  played  for  a  short  time  and  then  drifted  over 
to  the  coast,  and  finally  got  lost  to  view. 

A  dozen  years  later  he  was  discovered  by  some  Ameri- 
can actors  in  Japan,  keeping  a  roadside  tea  house  for  trav- 
elers with  a  set  of  pretty  Japanese  girls  for  waiters.  He 
married  a  Japanese  girl  and  latest  reports  credited  him  with 
a  fine  young  Japanese  colony  of  his  own.  A  picture  ot  him- 
self and  Japanese  wife  and  three  children  in  the  possession 
of  Jack  Langrishe's  widow  at  Wardner,  Idaho,  was  shown 
to  the  writer  there  recently,  and  was  a  strong  verification  of 
what  had  been  told  by  parties  who  had  seen  Pauncefort  in 
Japan.  George  had  let  his  beard  grow  and  was  quite  a 
patriarchal  looking  man  when  Joseph  Arthur  met  him  there 
in  1880.  Pauncefort  died  in  Japan  in  1893,  leaving  a  Japa- 
nese wife  and  four  semi-Jap  children.  George  Pauncefort 
missed  the  greatest  opportunity  of  his  life  by  not  joining  the 
Mormon  Church ;  he  had  all  the  natural  endowments  to 
make  a  great  patriarch. 


74  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SEASON  OF  '67~'68. 

On  the  first  of  August,  this  same  year,  '67,  C.  W.  Coul- 
dock  made  his  first  appearance  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  sup- 
ported by  Jack  Langrishe  and  his  company  from  Denver, 
where  they  had  been  running  a  stock  company.  It  was  an 
unfavorable  time  for  opening,  in  the  hottest  nights  of  sum- 
mer, but  there  were  no  resorts  in  those  days  and  it  was  not 
so  hard  to  get  them  into  the  theatre  as  it  would  be  now. 
Langrishe  had  a  full  road  company  and  was  traveling 
through  to  Montana  in  his  own  teams,  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  not  being  nearer  than  Rawlins  at  that  time.  The 
company  comprised  Mr.  Couldock  and  his  daughter,  Eliza 
Conldock,  John  S.  Langrishe  and  Mrs.  Langrishe,  Richard 
C.  White  (he  of  Camp  Floyd  fame,  referred  to  in  a  previous 
chapter).  The  Langrishe  company  played  a  week,  then 
went  to  Virginia  City,  Montana.  Couldock  and  his  daugh- 
ter returned  later  and  played  a  long  engagement  as  stock 
stars. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  Amy  Stone,  supported  by 
her  husband,  H.  F.  Stone,  began  a  stock  star  engagement 
which  lasted  a  little  more  than  four  months.  Opening  the 
regular  fall  season  on  September  5th,  by  the  time  the 
fall  Conference  came  on,  October  6th,  the  Stones  had 
the  stock  company  up  in  a  very  attractive  repertoire  of  plays 
to  present  to  "our  country  cousins"  attending  the  Confer- 
ence. Fanchon,  Pearl  of  Savoy,  "Little  Barefoot,"  "French 
Spy,"  "Wept  of  the  Wishton  Wish,"  were  leading  favorites 
in  the  Stone  repertory,  and  proved  to  be  very  popular,  serv- 
ing to  keep  the  exchequer  in  a  satisfactory  condition.  Their 
engagement  lasted  until  January  the  6th,  1868.  Amy,  if  not 
a  great  actress,  was  at  least  a  fascinating  one.  She  was 
blessed  with  a  superb  form  and  an  attractive  face ;  she  fairly 
reveled  in  parts  where  she  could  wear  tights  and  display  her 
shapely  form,  and  it  must  be  frankly  confessed  that  "the 
folks"  loved  to  see  her  in  that  kind  of  attire.  She  was  more 
at  home  in  it  than  in  an  evening  dress  with  a  bothersome 
train;  there  was  a  freedom  of  movement  and  a  candor  of 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         75 

expression  about  Amy  that  was  positively  refreshing,  and 
we  all  liked  her  and  got  along  with  her  with  very  little 
trouble.  "Harry,"  as  her  husband  was  always  called,  was 
not  a  brilliant  but  a  good,  useful  actor,  and  had  a  good 
knowledge  of  her  plays,  and  could  direct  the  staging  of 
them.  Besides,  he  attended  to  the  making  of  engagements, 
and  the  financial  end  of  the  business,  and  as  he  was  de- 
voted to  Amy,  they  were  apparently  one  of  the  happiest 
couples  I  have  ever  met  in  the  theatrical  business.  The 
Stones  were  a  very  prudent  and  saving  couple,  and  by  the 
time  they  had  finished  a  four  months'  stock  star  engagement, 
they  had  a  very  handsome  deposit  in  the  local  bank,  and  they 
left  Zion  feeling  a  very  warm  affection  for  the  Saints,  and  so 
Avent  on  their  way  rejoicing. 

On  the  night  immediately  following  the  close  of  the 
Stones'  engagement,  January  7th,  Mr.  James  Stark  opened 
in  John  Howard  Payne's  play  of  "Brutus,  or  the  Fall  of  Tar- 
quin."  This  was  the  first  presentation  of  this  play  in  Salt 
Lake.  Mr.  Stark  made  a  fine  impression  as  Brutus.  He  fol- 
lowed it  in  quick  succession  with  Richelieu,  Damon,  Jack 
Cade,  Alfred  Evelyn  in  "Money."  His  engagement  lasted 
two  weeks  and  closed  with  the  play  of  "Victorine,  or  Married 
for  Money."  Stark  was  a  very  talented  tragedian  of  the 
Forrest  school,  and  his  engagement  proved  quite  popular  and 
successful.  He  went  to  San  Francisco,  and  played  an  en- 
gagement there,  and  returned  to  New  York  by  the  Isthmus, 
the  Overland  railroad  not  yet  being  completed.  Mr.  Stark 
had  a  brother,  Daniel  Stark,  a  pioneer  Mormon,  who  settled 
at  Provo  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  that  place.  James,  who 
had  not  seen  him  for  many  years,  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity  his  Salt  Lake  engagement  afforded  him,  and 
arranged  a  meeting  with  his  "long  lost  brother"  (?).  He 
paid  Daniel  and  his  family  a  visit,  and  was  most  hospitably 
received  and  entertained.  The  family  made  much  ado  over 
him,  and  Daniel,  like  his  namesake  of  old,  "prophet-like," 
sought  to  show  James  the  error  of  his  ways,  pointing  out  to 
him  the  emptiness  and  effervescence  of  dramatic  fame,  and 
the  poor  illusive  thing  that  was  as  compared  with  the  real 
joys  and  blessings  of  the  Latter-Day  Gospel.  "Jim"  ac- 
cepted it  all  in  good  part,  but  he  could  not  see  "eye  to  eye" 
with  his  elder  brother  Daniel,  but  he  promised  to  consider 
seriously  what  he  had  heard  and  bade  them  a  loving  good- 
bye till  they  could  meet  again.  He  rather  expected  to  play 


76         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

a  return  engagement  when  he  left  here,  and  see  the  folks 
again,  but  he  never  returned.  Stark  died  in  New  York  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  year  1868,  in  his  5Oth  year. 

After  the  Stark  engagement,  the  stock  company  con- 
tinued the  season,  starting  off  with  a  series  of  annual  bene- 
fits which  by  this  time  were  given  the  leading  actors  of  the 
company  in  addition  to  salaries.  January  the  23rd,  D. 
McKenzie  "Benefits,"  playing  "Huguenot  Captain,"  with 
an  Olio  and  a  farce  to  conclude.  February  4th,  John  S. 
Lindsay  "Benefits"  and  essays  Hamlet  for  the  first  time. 
The  farce  that  followed  Hamlet  was  "Boots  at  the  Swan;" 
think  of  it,  "ye  modern  school  actors."  A  five-act  play  and  a 
farce,  this  meant  being  in  the  theatre  from  seven  o'clock  till 
midnight,  but  the  people  stayed  to  see  it  all,  and  many  of 
them  would  have  stayed  till  morning,  if  we  could  have  kept 
on  playing  pieces  for  them.  J.  M.  Hardie  "Benefits"  with 
"Jack  Cade,"  Miss  Colebrook  with  "Leah,"  etc.,  and  so  the 
season  ran  along  without  a  star  from  January  23rd  till  April 
the  23rd,  when  the  company  was  stiffened  up  again  by  the 
accession  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  B.  Waldron,  who  played 
up  till  May  i6th.  On  May  the  ipth,  Madam  Scheller 
opened  in  "Pearl  of  Savoy,"  gave  us  "Pauline"  in  "Lady 
of  Lyons,"  "Enoch  Arden,"  "Lorlie,"  "The  Phantom"  and 
"Hamlet."  Madam  Scheller  was  Edwin  Booth's  "Ophelia" 
during  the  one  hundred  nights'  run  of  Hamlet  at  Winter 
Garden  Theatre,  in  New  York. 

Very  naturally  the  Salt  Lakers  conversant  with  the 
facts  were  anxious  to  see  her  in  "Ophelia,"  so  Lindsay  who 
had  recently  played  "Hamlet"  for  his  "benefit,"  was  admon- 
ished to  prepare  himself  for  another  go  at  the  melancholy 
Dane  with  the  new  "Ophelia ;"  and  in  due  time  we  had  the 
novelty  of  Scheller's  "Ophelia."  She  was  irresistibly  charm- 
ing in  it,  in  spite  of  her  German  accent,  which  in  moments 
of  unusual  excitement  was  quite  pronounced.  Madam  Schel- 
ler proved  to  be  a  pleasing  and  accomplished  actress  and 
filled  a  long  engagement  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  She  was 
accompanied  by  her  husband,  Mr.  Methua,  who  was  a  skill- 
ful scenic  artist,  and  put  in  a  lot  of  new  scenes  for  the 
theatre  during  his  wife's  engagement.  Here  was  a  model 
couple,  courteous  and  refined ;  they  left  many  warm  friends 
in  Salt  Lake  at  their  departure,  whose  best  wishes  for  their 
success  went  with  them.  Unhappy  to  relate,  this  worthy  and 
respected  pair  died  of  yellow  fever  during  the  deadly  siege 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         77 

of  that  disease  at  Memphis  in  1878.  "United  in  life,  in  death 
they  were  not  separated." 

On  January  Qth,  after  playing  three  weeks  Madam 
Scheller  was  rested  for  a  week  to  give  an  opening  to  Char- 
lotte Crampton.  Crampton  was  a  genius  and  in  her  younger 
years  had  astonished  the  dramatic  world  by  her  histrionic 
gymnastics.  She  affected  the  male  characters  almost  ex- 
clusively—"Hamlet,"  "Richard  III,"  "Shylock,"  "Don 
Caesar,"  and  in  "Lady  Macbeth"  and  "Meg  Merrilles"  she 
rivaled  the  great  Charlotte  Cushman.  The  writer  remem- 
bers seeing  her  when  a  boy  at  the  old  Bates's  Theatre,  St. 
Louis,  which  was  her  home.  She  was  erratic  as  a  comet, 
and  her  eccentricities  were  the  town's  talk.  How  often  she 
was  married  this  deponent  saith  not,  but  remembers  that  at 
the  time  he  saw  her  playing  in  St.  Louis  in  1857,  she  was 
the  wife  of  a  Mr.  Istenour.  When  she  appeared  here  in 
Salt  Lake  City  in  1868,  she  was  far  past  the  meridian  of 
life  and  was  accompanied  by  her  husband,  "Mr.  Cook," 
young  enough  to  be  her  son.  The  novelty  of  a  woman  es- 
saying those  characters  was  a  strong  one,  and  served  to  draw 
out  good  houses.  She  played  "Hamlet,"  "Shylock,"  "Rich- 
ard III,"  and  "Don  Caesar,"  which  with  two  repeats,  filled 
up  her  week. 

Crampton  was  a  woman  rather  below  the  medium 
height,  and  looked  insignificant  dressed  up  for  those  male 
characters,  but  when  she  got  animated  she  made  you  forget 
her  size,  and  at  times  she  seemed  to  fill  not  only  the  center 
of  the  stage  but  the  entire  stage.  She  had  passed  the 
zenith  of  her  fame  some  years  before  she  made  this  trip  to 
the  coast.  She  bore  all  the  evidences  of  an  erratic  life 
and  premature  age ;  her  sun  had  nearly  set  when  she  played 
with  us  here ;  and  after  her  departure  for  the  East,  we 
heard  but  little  of  her.  Charlotte  Crampton's  engagement 
was  like  the  flashing  of  a  meteor  across  the  dramatic  firma- 
ment. Like  the  elder  Booth,  she  was  notorious  for  her  eccen- 
tricities, and  in  genius  was  akin  to  him.  "How  close  to  mad- 
ness great  wits  are  allied." 

After  the  passing  of  this  meteor,  the  steady  star,  Madam 
Scheller,  resumed  her  reign,  reappearing  as  "Laura  Court- 
land"  in  "Under  the  Gas  Light."  This  was  the  first  produc- 
tion of  this  play  in  Salt  Lake  City,  and  it  had  an  unprece- 
dented  run,  going  for  an  unbroken  week  to  full  houses.  As 
an  index  to  the  personnel  of  the  company  at  this  time,  June 
1 6th,  1868,  we  append  the  cast  of  "Under  the  Gas  Light." 


78  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

"UNDER  THE  GAS  LIGHT." 

Ray  Trafford  John  S.  Lindsay 

De   Milt    Mark  Wilton 

Wilton    Bert   Merrill 

Byke Phil  Margetts 

Joe  Snorkey David  McKenzie 

Bermudas John  C.  Graham 

Peanuts   Johnny  Matson 

Station  Man  Mark  Wilton 

Police  Judge J.  M.  Hardie 

O'Rafferty   John  E.  Evans 

Martin   John  B.  Kelly 

Police  Patrol    Richard  Mathews 

Laura  Courtland    Madam  Scheller 

Pearl  Courtland Miss  Annie  Adams 

Mrs.  Van  Dam Nellie  Colebrook 

Sue  Earlie   Alice  Clawson 

Peachblossom  Miss  Sara  Alexander 

Judas Mrs.  M.  A.  Clawson 

Summer  heat  had  but  little  affect  on  the  business  of 
the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  in  those  days  of  which  I  am  writing. 
Madam  Scheller  played  from  May  iQth  to  August  ist,  ex- 
cepting the  one  week  allotted  to  Charlotte  Crampton,  all 
through  the  hot  nights  of  June  and  July — and  there  was  no 
perceptible  or  serious  diminution  in  the  attendance.  This 
can  only  be  accounted  for  in  the  fact  that  there  were  no  re- 
sorts in  those  days,  and  the  theatre  was  the  coolest  place  in 
the  city.  We  naturally  looked  for  and  expected  a  rest 
through  August  after  the  long  season  we  had  put  in,  but 
there  was  no  respite.  On  the  4th  of  August,  Annette  Ince 
opened  in  "Julia"  in  the  "Hunchback"  and  gave  in  rapid 
succession  "Evadne,"  "Medea,"  "Ion,"  "Mary  Stuart," 
"Elizabeth,"  "As  You  Like  It,"  "Camilla,"  and  other  pieces 
filling  a  three  weeks'  engagement.  She  was  followed  by  E. 
L.  Davenport,  who  opened  on  August  the  2/th  in  "Riche- 
lieu," supported  by  Annette  Ince  as  "Julia  de  Mauprat,"  and 
the  full  strength  of  the  company.  Mr.  Davenport  gave  us 
his  "Richelieu,"  "Julian  St.  Pierre,"  in  "The  Wife,"  "Ham- 
let," "William"  in  "Black-Eyed  Susan,"  "Rover"  in  "Wild 
Oats"  and  "Sir  Giles  Overreach"  in  "A  New  Way  to  Pay 
Old  Debts."  Mrs.  Davenport  (Fanny  Vining)  appeared  in 
conjunction  with  Mr.  Davenport  in  this  engagement,  playing 
the  "Queen"  in  "Hamlet"  and  kindred  parts,  and  with  Miss 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         79 

Ince  in  the  leading  female  roles,  Mr.  Davenport  had  a  sup- 
porting company  in  every  way  worthy  of  him.  His  engage- 
ment was  a  memorable  one,  as  Mr.  Davenport  was  thought 
by  many  to  be  our  greatest  American  actor.  He  was  cer- 
tainly a  worthy  rival  of  Edwin  Booth  and  had  he,  like  that 
actor,  confined  his  brilliant  talents  to  the  great  Shakespear- 
ian roles,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  made  a  greater  name 
for  himself,  but  he  was  too  versatile  and  he  scattered  his 
efforts  on  the  "Williams"  and  "Rovers"  and  the  other  trifles 
that  he  should  have  dropped  as  he  advanced  in  years  and 
concentrated  his  efforts  on  a  repertory  of  his  greatest  char- 
acters only.  When  he  played  this  Salt  Lake  engagement  he 
had  declined  into  "the  vale  of  years."  As  Hamlet,  he  looked 
older  than  the  "Queen"  but  he  possessed  all  the  fire  and  ani- 
mation necessary ;  as  'St.  Pierre"  in  the  "Wife,"  he  was  at 
his  best,  and  fairly  lifted  the  audience  into  enthusiastic  de- 
monstrations of  applause.  It  was  not  long  after  this  that 
Davenport  was  pitted  against  the  English  tragedian  Barry 
Sullivan  in  New  York.  An  exceedingly  interesting  and 
able  criticism  and  comparison  of  these  two  great  actors  ap- 
peared in  Wilke's  "Spirit  of  the  Times,"  headed  "The  Two 
Rossi."  This  was  Davenport's  last  memorable  engagement. 
He  was  already  an  old  man  and  failing  fast.  He  died  in 
1871. 

"Ay,  but  to  die  and  go,  we  know  not  where,  to  lie  in  cold 
obstruction  and  to  rot, 

This  sensible  warm  motion  to  become  a  kneaded  clod, 

And  the  delighted  spirit  to  bathe  in  fiery  floods, 

Or  to  reside  in  chilling  regions  of  thick  ribbed  ice, 

To  be  imprisoned  in  the  viewless  winds, 

And  blown  with  restless  violence  about  the  pendant  world. 

'Tis  too  horrible !  The  weariest  and  most  loathed  worldly 
life, 

That  age,  ache,  penury,  and  imprisonment  can  lay  on  na- 
ture, 

Is  paradise  to  what  we  fear  of  death." 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  was  no  summer  vacation 
this  year  of  1868.  The  Davenport  engagement  carried  us 
into  September,  the  time  for  opening  the  season  of  '68  and 
'69.  Miss  Ince's  engagement  following  the  Davenports  was 
really  the  beginning  of  the  season  '68  and  '69. 


80  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
SEASON  OF  '68  AND  '69. 

Davenport's  engagement  ended,  Miss  Ince  resumed  and 
played  from  September  the  5th  to  the  I7th,  then  departed 
for  the  Golden  Shores  of  the  Pacific.  Now  again,  after 
this  brilliant  succession  of  stars,  the  stock  company  was 
left  to  its  own  unaided  efforts,  and  from  September  the  I7th 
to  November  the  26th  they  kept  the  wheel  turning  with  a 
steady  stream  of  stock  pieces,  and  the  old  mill  grinds,  and 
the  box  office  does  business  and  the  actors  get  their  salaries. 
"Stars  may  come  and  stars  may  go,  but  the  stock  keeps  on 
for  aye."  This  was  a  good  long  stretch  of  stock  work  from 
September  the  i/th,  through  the  October  Conference  and 
away  to  nearly  the  end  of  November,  ten  weeks  of  it ; 
broken  only  by  a  rest  of  three  nights,  when  Perepa  Rosa 
gave  us  a  series  of  Operatic  Concerts,  November  the  I4th, 
1 5th  and  i6th.  Salt  Lake  even  then  had  a  great  love  of 
music  and  turned  out  large  audiences  to  hear  the  famous 
prima  donna  and  her  talented  support,  including  her  hus- 
band, the  brilliant  violinist  and  conductor,  Carl  Rosa. 

Now  we  arrive  at  another  important  event  in  our 
theatre's  history,  the  first  engagement  of  John  McCul- 
lough. For  several  years  Lawrence  Barrett  and  John  McCul- 
lough  had  been  the  lessees  and  managers  of  the  old  Cali- 
fornia Theatre  in  San  Francisco,  and  in  spite  of  Barrett's 
known  sagacity  as  a  manager  and  notwithstanding  the  suc- 
cession of  brilliant  stars  presented  at  the  California  and  the 
magnificent  stock  company  kept  to  support  them,  the  ven- 
ture was  not  a  financial  success,  and  Barrett  and  McCul- 
lough  were  forced  to  succumb.  Then  it  was  that  McCullough 
began  his  career  as  a  star ;  what  reputation  he  had  made  up 
to  this  time  was  as  Edwin  Forrest's  leading  man.  "Larry" 
Barrett  had  "starred"  some  in  the  character  of  Elliott  Gray 
in  "Rosedale,"  now  they  were  both  out  of  a  job  and  looking 
for  engagement.  Barrett  went  East  and  resumed  his  starring 
in  "Rosedale"  and  gradually  drifted  into  the  Shakespearian 
roles.  McCullough  went  to  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  with  a 
picked-up  company,  and  played  his  first  star  engagement. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         81 

They  took  to  the  "genial"  John  very  kindly  there,  and 
worked  him  him  up  a  rousing  big  benefit ;  those  were  the 
palmy  days  of  the  Comstock  and  everybody  had  money,  ac- 
tors were  at  a  premium  in  the  camp  and  the  old  theatre  was 
packed  at  every  performance.  The  "Benefit"  netted  McCul- 
lough  over  two  thousand  dollars  and  "John"  was  glad  he 
was  an  actor.  He  knew  we  had  a  fine  theatre  and  a  good 
company  in  Salt  Lake,  so  he  made  arrangements  to  come 
and  play  with  us  a  spell.  On  November  the  26th,  he  opened 
in  "Damon"  and  followed  it  in  quick  succession  (playing 
nightly)  with  "Richelieu,"  "Hamlet,"  "Othello,"  "Shy- 
lock,"  Volage  in  "Marble  Heart,"  "Richard  III,"  "Robbers," 
"Macbeth,"  "Brutus/*  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  etc.,  etc. 

This  was  a  very  notable  engagement,  in  more  ways 
than  one.  It  was  notable  for  its  length,  covering  a  stretch 
of  twenty-three  nights ;  likewise  for  its  strength,  as  George 
B.  Waldron  and  Madam  Scheller,  who  had  both  returned 
from  a  Montana  tour,  were  added  to  the  company  to  stiffen 
the  cast — here  we  had  really  three  stars  and  a  strong,  cap- 
able, self-sustaining  stock  company  in  the  cast  of  all  the 
plays  during  McCullough's  first  Salt  Lake  engagement, 
which  lasted  three  weeks,  terminating  on  September  I7th. 
Again  the  stock  company  was  left  to  its  own  strength  and 
resources  and  even  after  this  brilliant  trio  of  dramatic  ar- 
tists, McCullough,  Scheller  and  Waldron  dropped  away 
from  us,  the  managers,  with  never-failing  confidence  ana 
temerity,  put  forward  the  stock  once  more  to  plough  through 
the  billowy  Christmas  time,  past  the  new  year  and  on  to 
February  loth,  when  we  welcomed  another  acquisition  to 
the  ranks  in  the  person  of  Miss  Annie  Lockhart. 

Miss  Lockhart  was  an  English  lady  of  liberal  educa- 
tion, refined  and  cultured;  and  although  she  had  not  posed 
as  a  "star  actress,"  she  had  an  extended  and  varied  experi- 
ence on  the  stage.  She  had  been  for  several  years  in  Aus- 
tralia in  the  stock  companies  of  Melbourne  and  Sidney,  where 
she  had  met,  loved  and  married  an  actor  by  the  name  of 
Harry  Jackson.  Harry  was  a  talented  character  man,  but 
the  flowing  bowl  was  his  weakness  and  Annie  in  time 
wearied  of  his  indiscretions  and  indulgences,  "shook 
him  off  to  beggarly  divorcement,"  left  him  in  San  Fran- 
cisco and  came  to  Salt  Lake  in  quest  of  an  engagement.  She 
must  have  made  a  very  favorable  impression  on  the  mana- 
gers, for  they  put  her  in  as  stock  "star"  up  to  March  1st, 
and  she  continued  a  member  of  the  company  up  to  her  fatal! 


82  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

illness  in  the  following  November.  Annie  Lockhart  was  at 
this  time  about  thirty-two  years  of  age,  a  woman  of  come- 
ly appearance  and  gentle  mien,  and  if  not  great  like  Julia 
Dean,  Annette  Ince,  or  Charlotte  Crampton,  was  always 
pleasing  and  satisfactory.  She  delighted  in  such  characters 
as  "Matida"  in  "Led  Astray,"  the  dual  role  in  "Two  Loves 
and  a  Life,"  "Janet  Pride,"  "Peg  Woffington"  and  kindred 
light  comedy  characters.  Miss  Lockhart  was  a  very  taste- 
ful dresser;  she  always  made  a  good  appearance  in  her 
part.  During  her  long  stay  with  the  stock  company  a  number 
of  stars  appeared.  The  first  after  her  engagement  was  James 
A.  Herne,  who  opened  on  March  ist,  1869,  in  "Rip  Van 
Winkle."  Herne's  "Rip"  made  a  great  hit  and  had  an  extra- 
ordinary run  of  five  nights.  Herne  played  ten  nights  doing 
"Solon  Shingle,"  "Captain  Cuttle,"  and  some  other  charac- 
ters. Then  he  was  joined  by  Lucille  Western  who  appeared 
as  the  leading  stellar  attraction  supported  by  Herne  and  the 
stock  company.  Miss  Western  opened  in  her  original  char- 
acter of  "Lady  Isabel"  in  "East  Lynne."  It  was  undoubt- 
edly a  great  performance  of  the  character,  but  the  recollec- 
tion of  Julia  Dean  Hayne  in  the  part  was  still  fresh  in  the 
public  mind,  and  she  had  made  such  a  powerful  impression 
in  this  character  that  Lucille  Western  was  compared  with 
her  only  to  her  disadvantage,  notwithstanding  she  was  the 
original  "Lady  Isabel."  We  had  now  in  rapid  succession 
Western's  entire  repertory  which  included  "The  Child  Steal- 
er,"  "Green  Bushes,"  "Oliver  Twist,"  "Flowers  of  the  For- 
est," "Don  Caesar  de  Bazan"  (with  Western  as  the  Don), 
and  "Foul  Play."  Miss  Western's  engagement  proceeded 
smoothly  and  drew  large  audiences.  One  of  the  Herne- 
Western  performances  created  a  genuine  sensation  in  Salt 
Lake.  It  was  "Oliver  Twist."  In  the  scene  where  Bill 
Sykes  (Herne)  kills  Nancy  (Miss  Western),  both  Herne 
and  Miss  Western  sought  to  make  the  murder  as  realistic 
and  blood  curdling  as  possible.  The  murder  is  done  off 
the  stage  in  a  room  on  the  left ;  Sykes  is  supposed  to  beat 
Nancy  to  death  with  his  ugly  stick  which  he  carries  through 
the  play.  To  carry  out  the  realism  of  the  beating  a  pad  was 
made  of  a  number  of  wet  towels ;  these  Herne  struck  with 
a  piece  of  board,  making  a  sickening  thud  which  Lucille 
accompanied  with  a  scream,  each  one  growing  fainter,  until 
it  became  a  groan,  then  Bill  steals  across  the  stage  and  off  at 
an  outer  door  and  Nancy,  almost  dead,  drags  herself  on  till 
she  gets  to  the  centre  of  the  stage,  her  face  completely  hidden 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        83 

by  her  dishevelled  hair ;  when  she  gets  to  position  centre  she 
turns  her  face  which  has  been  covered  from  the  audience, 
throws  her  hair  back  and  reveals  her  face  covered  with  stage 
gore.  On  this  occasion  the  picture  was  so  revolting  that 
several  women  in  the  audience  fainted — everybody  was 
shocked.  The  actress  had  made  it  as  revolting  as  possible, 
thinking  to  make  a  sensation.  She  succeeded,  but  had  she 
been  a  woman  of  finer  feelings,  instead  of  seeking  to  make 
the  picture  as  horrible  and  repulsive  as  she  could  she  would 
have  studied  how  to  make  it  effective  without  being  repul- 
sive. President  Young  was  very  angry  over  it.  The  picture 
was  very  abhorrent;  there  is  no  knowing  what  the  physio- 
logical results  were ;  it  was  rumored  afterwards  that  a  num- 
ber of  children  were  birthmarked  as  the  result  of  it.  The 
President  gave  orders  that  the  piece  should  not  be  played 
again  and  sent  messengers  all  over  the  city  to  tell  the  peo- 
ple not  to  go  and  see  it  if  it  was  put  on  again.  Of  course 
the  managers  withdrew  it  in  deference  to  his  wish,  but  there 
is  no  doubt  the  house  would  have  been  crowded  had  it  been 
repeated,  for  the  prohibition  only  aroused  a  greater  curiosity 
to  see  it ;  forbidden  fruit,  you  know,  is  generally  most  hank- 
ered after.  The  play  has  been  done  here  several  times  since 
President  Young's  death,  but  never  in  such  a  shocking 
manner. 

On  the  night  of  the  "Benefit"  Lucille  chose  to  show  us 
what  she  looked  like  in  male  attire,  so  she  put  up  "Don 
Caesar"  and  appeared  in'  the  role  of  the  ragged  cavalier. 
Before  the  play  was  over  it  was  very  apparent  that  Lucille 
had  been  indulging  in  the  ardent,  but  she  managed  to  get 
through  without  materially  marring  the  play.  The  next 
night,  however,  was  Charles  Reade's  "Foul  Play."  This 
piece  was  entirely  new  to  the  company,  never  having  been 
done  in  the  theatre  before,  so  that  the  stock  company  was 
hard  pushed  with  study  to  get  their  lines,  but  with  their 
accustomed  industry  and  regularity  they  were  all  au  fait  on 
this  first  occasion,  and  the  play  might  have  scored  a  gen- 
uine success  if  the  "star"  had  done  her  part  towards  it ; 
but  she  repeated  her  indulgence  of  the  night  before  and  to 
such  a  degree  that  by  the  opening  of  the  fourth  act  she  was 
in  a  very  sorry  plight.  This  act  is  on  an  uninhabited  island ; 
there  has  been  a  shipwreck  and  the  hero  and  heroine  have 
been  washed  or  driven  or  blown  onto  this  island  and  with  a 
few  of  the  ship's  crew  are  the  only  survivors.  As  the  act 
opens  Robert  Pen  fold  (Lindsay)  and  Helen  Rolleston  (Miss 


84        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Western)  are  discovered  on  a  high  cliff  looking  for  a  sail. 
The  few  survivors  of  the  crew  have  gone  in  search  of 
fresh  water  and  something  to  eat,  and  the  two  leading 
characters  have  the  entire  act  between  them  until  the  finale 
when  a  rescuing  party  arrives  with  a  boat.  Here  was  a  di- 
lemma ;  never  was  a  stage  lover  placed  in  a  more  embarrass- 
ing position.  It  was  quite  apparent  to  him  as  they  ascended  to 
the  cliff  before  the  rise  of  the  curtain  that  the  stalwart  Lu- 
cille was  not  in  proper  condition  for  climbing  cliffs,  more 
particularly  stage  cliffs,  which  are  generally  pretty  shaky 
affairs,  and  the  probability  of  a  sudden  and  unlocked  for 
descent  was  anything  but  a  pleasing  prospect  to  Mr.  Lind- 
say. To  still  further  embarrass  him  he  discovered  that  Lu- 
cille's  tongue  was  decidedly  thick,  in  fact  she  could  scarcely 
articulate.  The  curtain  should  never  have  gone  up ;  it  would 
have  saved  the  management,  the  actors,  and  particularly 
Miss  Western,  a  vast  amount  of  humiliation ;  Miss  Western 
should  have  been  suddenly  ill ;  or  an  announcement  made  to 
that  effect  and  the  audience  dismissed  and  their  money  re- 
funded if  necessary ;  they  should  have  been  spared  the  ag- 
ony of  witnessing  a  really  great  artiste  rendered  imbecile 
and  helpless  by  an  uncontrollable  appetite  for  liquor.  But 
the  curtain  did  go  up  and  down  went  Lucille.  At  the  very 
first  step  she  made  to  descend  she  staggered,  and  in  spite  of 
all  that  her  stage  lover  could  do  to  steady  her  she  made  a 
sudden  unsteady  descent  and  landed  in  a  kneeling  position 
on  the  stage.  Oh !  the  agony  of  that  moment !  With  as- 
sistance she  staggered  to  her  feet,  and  now  as  she  attempted 
to  speak  her  first  speech  in  the  act,  a  new  terror  seized  me. 
Her  words  were  thick  and  inarticulate — not  heard  at  all  by 
the  majority  of  the  audience,  who  now  began  to  realize  the 
true  condition.  It  was  evident  to  everybody  on  the  stage 
that  she  could  never  get  through  the  act,  and  so  the  stage 
manager,  after  another  abortive  attempt  on  her  part  to  say 
her  lines,  sent  on  the  boat  with  the  rescue  party  and  the 
finale  of  the  act  was  reached.  Never  was  such  a  scene  be- 
tween a  pair  of  stage  lovers  so  horribly  mutilated  as  this ; 
never  was  an  act  so  fearfully  and  unintelligibly  abbreviated 
as  this  one,  and  never  did  a  rescue  party  arrive  more  oppor- 
tunely. It  plucked  the  "star"  from  immediate  disgrace, 
an  embarassed  actor  from  despair.  It  was  no  wonder  the 
audience  remained  for  the  last  act,  for  they  had  before  the 
end  of  the  fourth  act  divined  the  true  state  of  affairs  and 
they  stayed,  curious  to  see  how  it  would  or  could  end.  The 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         85 

last  act  was  a  court  room  scene  and  the  star  had  to  sit  on 
the  witness  stand.  She  did  not  make  a  very  intelligent  wit- 
ness but  sat  there  with  a  bright  green  silk  gown,  with  a  face 
flushed  to  redness,  and  looking  the  picture  of  helplessness. 
How  we  got  through  that  act,  I  don't  think  anyone  engaged 
in  it  could  have  told,  but  with  the  prompter's  assistance  read- 
ing most  of  Miss  Western's  lines,  we  blundered  through  and 
the  final  drop  came  on  the  most  inglorious  and  trying  per- 
formance I  ever  had  part  in. 

The  manager  promptly  cancelled  Miss  Western's  en- 
gagement, although  she  had  one  more  night  to  play.  The 
following  night  "Arrah  Na  Pogue"  was  put  up  with  Mr. 
Herne  in  the  part  of  "Shaun  the  Post,"  but  as  if  the  fates 
had  decreed  that  this  Herne- Western  engagement  should 
end  disgracefully,  if  not  disastrously,  this  last  night  went 
on  record  as  losing  one  for  the  managers  and  a  discredit- 
able one  to  the  solitary  remaining  star.  Owing  to  the  fiasco 
of  the  night  before,  a  rather  slender  audience  was  in  attend- 
ance to  witness  Mr.  Herne's  last  appearance.  Whether 
this  fact  had  to  do  with  the  sudden  indisposition  and  col- 
lapse of  Mr.  Herne  on  this  occasion,  there  is  no  means  of 
knowing,  but  the  writer  has  ever  been  of  the  opinion  that 
it  was  the  very  perceptible  falling  away  of  the  patronage 
and  his  chagrin  and  vexation  over  Miss  Western's  conduct 
of  the  night  before  that  wrought  upon  the  actor's  nervous 
system  to  such  a  degree  that  he  declared  himself  unable  to 
appear.  The  writer's  dressing  room  was  so  situated  that 
he  could  not  hear  what  was  transpiring  on  the  stage.  When 
the  curtain  time  arrived  and  I  came  down  to  the  stage  all 
made  up  for  "Michael  Feeney,"  to  my  great  surprise  I  was 
informed  there  was  to  be  no  performance ;  the  audience  had 
been  dismissed  owing  to  the  sudden  illness  of  Mr.  Herne. 
Herne  was  seated  on  the  big  curtain  roller  and  a  number  of 
the  company  around  him,  offering  sympathy  and  assistance 
to  the  disabled  star  who  appeared  to  be  in  great  agony.  I 
returned  hastily  to  my  dressing  room  and  divested  myself 
of  Michael  Feeney's  habiliments,  and  resuming  my  own  at- 
tire, was  soon  back  to  Mr.  Herne's  side  and  proffered  my 
assistance  to  help  him  to  his  hotel.  In  the  meantime  a  doc- 
tor, who  kept  his  office  a  few  doors  west  of  the  theatre,  had 
been  called  in  and  he  requested  us  to  bring  Herne  to  his 
office.  There  were  few  hacks  or  gurney  cabs  in  those  days, 
and  so  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Hardie  and  myself,  Mr. 
Herne  managed  with  difficulty  to  reach  the  doctor's  office. 


86        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

This  doctor  was  one  of  the  old  school  of  practitioners  and 
like  Felix  Callighan,  in  "His  Last  Legs,"  he  proceeded 
to  "cup"  or  bleed  the  patient.  After  he  had  relieved  Herne 
of  a  quart  or  so  of  superfluous  blood,  he  bandaged  the  cup- 
ping ;  gave  the  patient  a  dose  of  regulation  stimulant  and 
directed  the  patient  to  be  taken  to  his  hotel  and  placed  com- 
fortably in  bed.  It  was  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  White 
House  and  there  was  not  a  hack  or  vehicle  of  any  kind  avail- 
able, so  Hardie  and  1  formed  a  seat  for  the  sick  actor  by 
locking  our  hands  together  and  getting  the  patient's  hands 
over  our  shoulders,  we  carried  him  to  the  White  House.  By 
the  time  we  got  him  up  a  long  flight  of  stairs  to  his  room,  we 
were  tired  and  winded,  although  Margetts  and  McKenzie, 
who  had  accompanied  us,  took  turns  at  the  carrying  business. 
Scarcely  had  \ve  got  the  sick  actor  in  bed  before  a  knock  at 
the  door  (a  sort  of  frightened  knock)  was  heard,  and  as 
we  said  "come  in"  the  door  opened  and  Miss  Western,  clad 
in  her  night  gown,  with  a  shawl  around  her,  timidly  entered 
and  inquired  with  great  anxiety  what  the  matter  was.  On 
being  informed  that  Mr.  Herne  had  been  taken  so  ill  that 
the  audience  had  to  be  dismissed,  and  he  carried  home  to  his 
room,  she  became  hysterical.  Bursting  into  tears  she  ex- 
claimed, piteously,  "Oh,  my  God !  This  is  awful !  Oh,  Jim- 
mie !"  addressing  herself  passionately  to  Herne.  "I  wish 
we  were  home  with  mother !"  She  evidently  had  not  fully 
recovered  from  her  carousal  of  the  night  before,  and  in  her 
half  stupid,  half  hysterical  conditon,  moaned  and  prayed  as 
if  some  terrible  calamity  had  befallen  her.  Herne  rapidly 
recovered  from  his  illness  and  the  co-stars  left  Salt  Lake. 
Lucille  never  returned,  but  Herne  came  back  early  in  1874 
and  hovered  between  Salt  Lake  and  Ogden  for  a  long 
time,  and  finally  drifted  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  became 
the  stage  manager  of  the  Bush  Street  and  afterward  of  the 
Baldwin  theatre  when  Tom  Maguire,  "The  Napoleon"  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  as  he  was  called  at  the  time,  opened  that  pop- 
ular theatre.  That  was  before  any  of  the  Eastern  managers 
had  invaded  San  Francisco. 

The  Herne- Western  engagement  closed  on  April  I7th 
and  was  closely  followed  by  Fannie  Morgan  Phelps,  who 
played  from  April  2oth  to  May  2oth,  appearing  in  a  new 
line  of  plays  for  the  diversion  of  the  stock  company  as  well 
as  the  public.  She  opened  in  "Meg's  Diversion,"  and 
proved  to  be  a  prime  favorite.  "The  Deal  Boatman,"  "Black 
Eyed  Susan,"  she  seemed  to  have  a  partiality  for  nautical 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         87 

pieces  and  succeeded  in  making  the  seashore  heroines  very 
attractive.  Fanny  stayed  four  weeks  with  us,  then  went  to 
Montana.  She  never  paid  us  a  second  visit  although  Salt 
Lake  treated  her  very  handsomely  in  the  way  of  patronage. 
Mrs.  Phelps  was  a  widow  ;  her  husband,  Ralph  Phelps,  a 
popular  actor,  was  killed  by  a  blow  from  a  tackle  block  on 
board  of  the  steamer  coming  from  Australia. 

Our  next  stellar  attraction  was  Charles  Wheatleigh,  who 
opened  on  May  2Oth  in  "Sam,"  supported  by  Annie  Lockhart 
and  the  stock  company.  Wheatleigh  gave  nine  perform- 
ances, the  pieces  presented  being  "Sam,"  "Lottery  of 
Life,"  "Arrah  Na  Pogue,"  "After  Dark,"  and  "Under  the 
Gaslight."  Charley  Wheatleigh  was  rather  a  brilliant  co- 
median. His  plays  proved  very  popular  and  he  played  a 
memorable  engagement. 

The  next  engagement  was  one  that  eased  the  labors  of 
the  stock  company,  giving  most  of  us  a  rest.  It  was  the 
Howson  Opera  company.  It  was  quite  a  family  affair.  The 
company  consisted  of  Pere  Howson,  Mere  Howson,  John 
Howson,  Frank  Howson,  Clelia  Howson,  and  Fannie  How- 
son.  They  were  a  very  talented  musical  family  and  played 
light  opera  very  well  indeed.  They  opened  in  the  "Grand 
Duchess,"  their  cast  being  filled  up  with  members  of  the 
stock  company'  who  could  sing.  They  played  from  January 
ist  to  the  2Oth,  each  opera  being  played  twice  or  three  times. 
The  Howsons  were  well  liked  and  made  many  friends,  both 
in  and  out  of  the  theatre. 

Prof.  Hartz,  a  magician,  followed  the  Howson  engage- 
ment, holding  the  stage  from  January  2ist  to  the  26th. 

On  June  28th,  1869,  George  D.  Chaplin  made  his  first 
appearance  at  this  theatre  in  "Hamlet,"  playing  thirteen  per- 
formances, closing  July  loth  in  "Armadale."  Chaplin  made 
a  very  favorable  impression  and  later  played  a  longer  engage- 
ment. He  had  been  leading  man  for  Ben  DeBar  in  St. 
Louis,  and  was  a  versatile  actor,  fond  of  playing  "Hamlet" 
and  "Macbeth,"  in  which,  if  not  great,  he  was  always  pleas- 
ing. Then,  as  if  to  prove  his  versatility,  he  would  put  on 
a  burlesque  called  "The .. Seven  Sisters,"  and  appear  as  the 
principal  sister.  George  had  a  handsome  face,  and  a  very 
plump  physique,  and  made  up  for  a  woman,  he  was  a  study. 

On  July  1 2th,  Lotta  opened  in  "Little  Nell,"  and  played 
during  the  week  "Captain  Charlotte,"  "Firefly,"  and  "Top- 
sy"  in  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin." 

George  Chaplin  resumed  on  July  iQth,  opening  in  the 


88         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

burlesque  of  "The  Seven  Sisters"  and  filled  out  a  week  with 
"Ten  Nights  in  a  Barroom,"  "Money,"  and  the  burlesque 
of  "Pocahontas,"  in  which  he  played  "Powhattan"  very  clev- 
erly. 

July  26th,  Kennedy's  Scottish  Entertainment  held  the 
boards,  and  on  the  28th  a  new  star  was  ushered  in  that  gave 
the  stock  company  more  work,  just  as  we  were  expecting 
a  brief  summer  vacation — Geraldine  Warden.  She  played 
four  nights  and  a  matinee.  This  engagement  closed  the 
season  as  far  as  the  stock  company  was  concerned.  It  was 
now  July  3  ist  and  the  company  had  the  month  of  August  in 
which  to  rest  from  study  and  rehearsals,  for  the  fall  season 
would  open  early  in  September. 

The  theatre  was  not  entirely  closed,  however,  in  August. 
On  the  1 8th  of  that  month,  Murphy  and  Mack's  minstrels 
opened  and  continued  until  the  28th  giving  eleven  perform- 
ances. This  was  Joe  Murphy's  first  visit  to  Salt  Lake,  when 
he  was  a  black  face  artist,  and  before  he  had  dreamed  of  be- 
coming an  Irish  comedian.  The  fact  of  this  company  giv- 
ing eleven  performances  in  the  theatre  in  August  shows 
how  very  popular  they  were,  and  how  Salt  Lake  liked  min- 
strelsy. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  89 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
SEASON  OF  '69-70. 

The  season  of  '69  and  '70  opened  auspiciously  on  Sep- 
tember 4th  with  the  now  recuperated  stock  company  in  a  new 
play.  'The  Captain  of  the  Vulture"  was  played  one  week 
and  another  new  star  dawned  on  the  horizon.  September 
1 3th  Mr.  Neil  Warner  was  the  star  attraction.  Warner  was 
an  English  actor  and  had  been  in  the  supporting  company 
of  the  late  lamented  Gustavus  Brooke,  who  gave  promise 
of  becoming  England's  greatest  tragedian,  but  whose  al- 
ready resplendent  career  was  unfortunately  cut  short  by  the 
loss  of  the  steamship  London.  Brooke  was  making  a  second 
visit  to  Melbourne  and  Sidney  in  '66,  where  he  had  achieved 
a  remarkable  triumph  a  year  before,  but  alas !  for  the  irony  of 
fate,  he  was  doomed  to  be  cut  off  in  the  very  unfolding  ot  the 
most  brilliant  talents  the  English  stage  had  yet  seen.  The 
unfortunate  London  went  down  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  and 
some  two  hundred  souls  perished  in  the  wreck  and  among 
them  the  brilliant  Gustavus  Brooke.  A  friend  of  the  writer, 
now  in  this  city  (Salt  Lake),  Mr.  Jack  Cooey,  had  a  brother 
who  was  one  of  the  very  few  survivors  of  that  illfated  ship, 
there  being  but  sixteen  in  all.  So  America  never  got  to  see 
Brooke,  who  was  regarded  by  his  countrymen  generally  as 
the  greatest  of  all  their  tragic  actors. 

Neil  Warner  was  said  to  be  a  copyist  of  Brooke;  un- 
doubtedly he  had  played  with  him,  and  learned  much  from 
him,  and  if  not  as  great  as  his  acknowledged  tutor,  Warner 
was  not  unworthy  to  be  called  great.  He  had  a  splendid 
physique  and  a  magnificent  voice,  which  he  could  use  with 
magnetic  effect.  Its  transitions  were  at  times  marvelous  and 
in  this  writer's  opinion,  he  was  the  superior  of  all  our  Amer- 
ican tragedians,  with  the  exception  of  Davenport,  whom  he 
very  much  resembled  both  in  the  majesty  of  his  presence 
and  in  mental  superiority.  Warner  opened  in  "Richard  III." 
and  made  a  most  decided  hit  in  the  character,  notwithstand- 
ing he  had  several  notable  predecessors  in  the  part,  notably 
McCullough  and  Stark.  He  played  twenty-four  perform- 
ances, embracing  a  wide  range  of  legitimate  plays — ''Ham- 


90         THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

let,"  "Macbeth,"  "Richelieu,"  and  his  "Macbeth"  was  the 
greatest  of  all  his  fine  performances.  He  went  to  New  York 
from  here  and  we  quite  expected  to  hear  great  things  about 
him,  but  for  some  cause  or  other  he  never  played  a  stellar 
engagement  in  New  York,  and  the  following  year  the  writer, 
much  to  his  astonishment  and  disappointment,  saw  him  play- 
ing a  second  heavy  part  in  support  of  Charles  Wyndham  the 
English  comedian  at  a  theatre  in  Brooklyn.  Warner  did 
not  make  a  go  in  New  York,  and  drifted  over  to  Montreal, 
Canada,  where  he  stayed  for  many  years ;  but  a  few  years 
ago  he  toured  California  in  connection  with  a  rising  young 
actress  of  that  state,  in  a  round  of  his  favorite  characters. 
Annie  Lockhart  played  the  leading  female  characters  in  all 
Warner's  performances  here.  They  .had  known  each  other 
in  Australia,  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  very  warm  friendship 
between  them  and  it  was  certain  that  Annie  was  an  ardent 
admirer  of  her  talented  countryman,  and  some  of  us  rather 
feared  she  would  go  with  him  when  he  took  his  departure 
from  Salt  Lake ;  but  something  occurred  between  them  that 
must  have  angered  him,  for  a  day  or  two  before  his  engage- 
ment closed,  he  spoke  to  Miss  Lockhart  at  a  rehearsal  in 
words  and  tones  so  heartless  and  insulting  that  the  company 
were  amazed  at  him,  and  poor  Annie  sought  the  seclusion  of 
her  dressing  room  to  have  a  good  cry.  Conjecture  was  rife 
and  pointed  to  a  rival  in  the  lady's  affections  as  the  cause  of 
his  tirade.  Warner  departed,  leaving  Annie  with  us,  very 
much  to  the  gratification  of  the  company  and  public,  but  it 
was  not  for  long;  poor  Annie  Lockhart  had  received  a 
wound  from  which  she  never  recovered.  She  only  lived 
five  weeks  after  this  and  the  cause  of  her  sudden  decline 
and  death  was  more  or  less  of  a  mystery,  for  up  to  this  time 
she  was  a  hale,  hearty  woman,  in  the  very  prime  of  life.  She 
was  laid  away  tenderly  by  loving  hands  and  hearts,  whom 
she  had  never  known  until  eight  months  before,  but  whom 
she  had  endeared  to  her  by  her  sweet,  womanly  ways.  Many 
a  tear  was  shed  and  genuine  sorrow  was  felt  when  Annie 
Lockhart  was  laid  away  in  Olivet. 

The  night  after  Warner's  engagement  closed,  Sunday, 
October  I2th,  Stephen  Massett  lectured. 

October  I3th,  Madam  Scheller  opened  her  second  en- 
gagement, playing  six  nights,  and  gave  "Roll  of  the  Drum," 
"Child  of  the  Regiment,"  "Enoch  Arden,"  etc.  The  theatre 
closed  from  the  1 8th  to  the  23rd  on  account  of  the  Militia 
Muster.  The  Nauvoo  Legion,  as  the  Territorial  troops 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  91 

were  called,  had  a  big  encampment  on  the  banks  of  the  Jor- 
dan river  and  of  such  importance  was  it  that  the  theatre  had 
to  close,  as  every  able  bodied  man  was  expected  to  drill  and 
all  the  women  and  children,  of  course,  had  to  go  and  see 
them.  The  late  George  Q.  Cannon  and  other  high  church 
dignitaries  fell  into  the  ranks  on  this  occasion  and  carried 
muskets,  whether  from  the  love  of  exercise  or  a  keen  love 
of  duty,  or  for  the  effect  of  example,  this  deponent  saith 
not.  Nearly  all  the  dramatic  company  were  in  the  big  drill, 
so,  of  course,  there  could  be  no  theatres  until  it  was  over. 
It  was  intended  to  be  a  great  demonstration,  and  it  was ; 
almost  every  Mormon  man  was  in  the  ranks.  The  theatre 
resumed  business  with  the  rest  of  the  town,  Saturday  the 
23rd  inst.,  when  one  of  Madam  Scheller's  pieces  was  re- 
peated. This  was  Madam  Scheller's  last  appearance  at  this 
theatre.  She  and  her  husband,  Methua  Scheller,  went  East 
from  here,  and  died  in  Memphis  in  1878,  during  the  yellow 
fever  contagion  of  that  dread  disease. 

On  October  25th,  the  Stones,  Amy  and  Harry,  opened 
up  a  return  engagement  in  ''French  Spy."  They  played 
twelve  nights,  giving  "Fanchon,"  and  "Little  Barefoot,"  etc. 
Their  engagement  closed  November  6th,  after  a  very  satis- 
factory engagement. 

On  the  8th  the  stock  company  resumed,  and  played 
"Waiting  for  the  Verdict."  Annie  Lockhart,  who  had  rested 
during  the  Stones'  engagement,  resumed  and  was  playing 
the  leading  female  character  in  this  play  when  she  was  taken 
very  ill.  With  the  aid  of  kind  attention  she  got  through  the 
night's  work,,  but  she  went  home  so  ill  that  she  took  to  her 
bed,  and  on  the  i8th  of  November,  died.  Three  days  pre- 
vious to  her  death,  on  the  I5th  of  November,  John  Wilson 
and  Kate  Denin  were  ushered  in  as  stock  stars,  and  contin- 
ued until  January  5th,  1870,  when  they  withdrew  for  a  week 
to  give  place  to  Charlotte  Thompson,  who  played  a  six 
nights'  engagement,  playing  "Julia"  in  the  "Hunchback," 
"Leah,  the  Forsaken,"  "Sea  of  Ice,"  and  "Court  and  Stage." 
Miss  Thompson  was  a  pretty  woman  and  a  pleasing  actress — 
a  favorite  in  the  South  where  she  belonged. 

From  the  I4th  to  the  24th,  the  stock  company  held 
down  the  business  without  stellar  assistance,  when  Kate 
Denin  and  John  Wilson  returned  and  played  another  en- 
gagement. As  stock  stars  they  remained  until  February 
1 4th.  Then  came  another  siege  of  stock  work  without  any 
star,  broken  intermittently  by  lectures  and  concerts.  Ole 


92 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


Bull  gave  concerts  March  8th  and  gth ;  Alf  Barnett's  en- 
tertainment, March  22nd  and  23rd;  Satsuma's  Japanese 
troupe  from  March  25th  to  3Oth.  These  attractions,  of 
course,  gave  the  company  some  respite  from  their  arduous 
studies,  but  it  was  only  brief,  and  we  were  already  re- 
hearsing for  the  ensuing  conference  dates.  So  the  stock 
company  resumed  their  labors  and  played  all  through  April 
and  up  to  May  i6th  when  the  season  of  '69  and  '70  closed. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  93 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SEASON   OF   '7O-'7I. 

The  theatre  did  not  reopen  until  August  the  27th  when 
the  season  of  '70  and  '71  was  ushered  in  with  a  "Benefit"  to 
Miss  Colebrook.  This  was  really  the  first  summer  the 
theatre  had  remained  closed  and  given  the  company  a  needed 
rest.  The  stock  company  played  one  week  only  when  the 
veteran  tragedian,  T.  A.  Lyne,  began  an  engagement  which 
ran  from  September  the  3rd  to  the  2oth.  This  was  Lyne's 
fourth  engagement  since  the  opening  of  the  theatre,  and  it 
proved  what  a  remarkable  hold  he  had  upon  our  theatre 
goers  when  he  repeated  his  well  known  and  well  worn  rep- 
ertoire to  splendid  business.  As  there  was  no  other  star  in 
the  dramatic  firmament  when  Lyne's  engagement  expired, 
the  stock  company  was  put  on  its  own  resources  once  again 
and  continued  successfully  up  to  the  loth  of  December,  when 
the  monotony  was  in  some  measure  broken  by  the  accession 
to  the  company  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  S.  Langrishe,  and  the 
following  week  C.  W.  Couldock  and  his  daughter,  Eliza, 
floated  the  stellar  flag  for  the  third  time,  repeating  a  portion 
of  their  old  repertoire.  They  played  from  the  26th  to  the 
3 1 st.  Mr.  Couldock  went  East,  leaving  Eliza  (who  was  in 
poor  health)  here  to  recuperate.  They  were  succeeded  by 
George  W.  Thompson  and  Sallie  Hinckley,  who  played  a 
week's  engagement,  presenting  "Man  and  Wife"  and  the 
"Persecuted  Dutchman,"  filling  dates  January  2nd  to  the 
7th,  of  1871.  The  stock  company  then  played  along  again 
until  February  I3th,  when  McKee  Rankin,  Kitty  Blanch- 
ard  and  W.  H.  Power  opened  a  stellar  engagement,  playing 
two  weeks  to  February  25th.  Everywhere  else  the 
Rankins  were  playing  "The  Danites,"  but  owing  to 
the  odious  light  in  which  that  play  presented  the  Mor- 
mon leaders,  they  did  not  dare  to  produce  it  at  the 
Salt  Lake  Theatre.  Of  course  the  managers  would 
not  consent,  and  the  great  wonder  is  that  Rankin 
could  secure  dates  at  all  at  Brigham  Young's  theatre  while 
he  was  starring  through  the  country  in  a  play  so  well  cal- 
culated to  stir  up  prejudice  against  the  Mormons.  "The 
Danites"  had  to  be  eliminated  while  the  Rankins  fell  back 
onto  some  old  plays  in  which  the  stock  company  was  up  in. 
"Rip  Van  Winkle,"  "Little  Barefoot,"  and  "Colleen  Bawn" 
were  given. 


94        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  the  fact  here  that  "The 
Danites"  has  never  been  played  in  Salt  Lake  or  anywhere 
in  Utah. 

About  this  time  George  B.  Waldron  turned  up  again 
in  Salt-  Lake,  and  was  installed  as  leading  man  to  strengthen 
the  company  and  ease  somewhat  the  labors  of  David  Mc- 
Kenzie. 

Rose  Evans,  a  lady  who  was  enamoured  of  "Hamlet,''' 
and  made  a  specialty  of  playing  it,  was  introduced  to  Salt 
Lake  soon  after  Waldron's  accession  to  the  company,  and  we 
had  during  her  engagement  which  ran  through  the  April 
conference,  "Hamlet,"  "Twixt  Axe  and  Crown,"  "Ingomar ;" 
Miss  Evans  as  "Parthenia"  and  Waldron  as  "Ingomar;" 
"Lady  Audrey's  Secret,"  "Romeo  and  Juliet;"  Waldron  as 
"Romeo."  Rose  Evans  established  herself  very  strongly  in 
the  favor  of  the  Salt  Lake  theatre  goers.  Her  "Hamlet" 
was  liked,  and  she  played  it  intelligently  and  perhaps  as  well 
as  a  woman  could  play  it,  but  no  woman  can  ever  play 
"Hamlet"  satisfactorily  to  the  critical  mind;  and  very  few 
men  out  of  the  thousands  of  actors  ever  reach  and  handle 
it  satisfactorily.  Her  "Juliet"  was  very  acceptable,  but  Wal- 
dron's voice  was' too  basso  profundo  for  "Romeo."  it  was 
hard  to  imagine  him  as  the  youthful  love-distraught  Romeo 
with  his  deep  set  vocal  organ. 

Miss  Evans  closed  on  April  8th  and  was  closely  fol- 
lowed by  Mile.  Marie  Ravel,  who  opened  on  the  loth,  sup- 
ported by  Waldron  and  the  stock  company  and  played  an  en- 
gagement of  twenty  nights.  On  May  4th  Herr  Daniel  E. 
Bandmann  and  his  wife  (his  first  one)  opened  an  engage- 
ment of  five  nights,  presenting  "Macbeth,"  "Hamlet,"  "Mer- 
chant of  Venice,"  "Narcisse,"  and  "Richard  III." 
Bandmann,  at  this  time,  was  a  very  popular  tragedian.  He 
had  played  as  early  as  '65  in  San  Francisco  a  very  success- 
ful engagement.  He  was  now  returning  from  his  second 
visit  to  San  Francisco.  He  spoke  with  a  decided  German 
accent,  which  was,  however,  not  disagreeable  to  the  ear, 
his  voice  being  musical  and  his  reading  very  artistic  and 
finished.  Bandmann  bought  a  ranch  near  Missoula,  Mon- 
tana, some  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  and  went  into  semi-re- 
tirement. He  had  a  curious  advertisement  in  the  Dramatic 
Mirror,  about  as  follows:  "Daniel  E.  Bandmann,  Trag- 
edian and  breeder  of  fine  horses  and  cattle."  He  also  bred  a 
large  family  of  children  on  that  same  ranch.  When  he  went 
into  retirement  he  took  with  him  his  latest  "leading  lady," 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  95 

Mary  Kelly,  as  his  wife,  and  they  have  a  number  of  heirs  to 
succeed  to  the  tragedy  and  breeding  business.  His  first 
wife,  Millie  Palmer,  still  figures  in  London  theatricals,  and 
she  has  a  son  who  is  conspicuous  in  theatrical  manage- 
ment. Herr  Bandmann  still  makes  spasmodic  incursions 
into  the  surrounding  country  with  an  improvised  dramatic 
company  and  plays  his  favorite  characters. 

The  next  star  to  shine  in  our  firmament  was  J.  K.  Em- 
mett.  "Joe,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was  just  at  the 
zenith  of  his  fame  about  this  time,  and  he  filled  the  theatre 
from  pit  to  dome.  The  character  of  "Fritz"  appealed  strong- 
ly to  nearly  all  theatre  goers,  and  "Joe"  Emmett  with  his  be- 
witching voice  and  catchy  lullabies,  had  an  easy  road  to 
fame  and  fortune.  Emmett  played  from  the  loth  to  the 
1 3th. 

The  Couldocks,  father  and  daughter,  now  played  a  re- 
turn engagement,  covering  two  weeks,  from  May  22nd  to 
June  5th,  repeating  mostly  old  repertoire.  They  were  fol- 
lowed closely  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ida  Hernandez,  a  Polish 
couple,  who  came  to  this  country  with  Madam  Modjeska,  and 
were  now  working  their  way  to  the  East.  They  were  clever 
performers,  but  being  unknown,  they  did  not  draw  heavy 
houses.  June  8th  to  the  nth. 

The  Lingards  followed  Hernandez  in  a  brief  engagement 
of  three  nights,  June  I2th  to  I4th.  The  following  week  was 
filled  in  by  the  Hernandez  and  the  Carter-Cogswell  con- 
tingent of  the  Salt  Lake  stock  company.  J.  M.  Carter  and 
his  wife,  Carrie  Carter  (nee  Lyne-Cogswell)  had  recently 
arrived  from  Denver  and  had  been  added  to  the  stock  com- 
pany, which  had  been  weakened  materially  by  the  loss  of 
several  of  its  prominent  members.  Hardie  had  gone  to  the 
Virginia  City  theatre;  Lindsay  had  gone  on  a  visit  to  Eng- 
land and  had  withdrawn  from  the  company  for  a  time; 
Miss  Alexander  had  also  drifted  away  to  the  East,  so  that 
when  the  Carters  arrived  and  sought  engagement,  the  man- 
agers readily  availed  themselves  of  their  services.  They 
played  here  for  a  few  weeks  and  at  the  close  of  the  season 
went  on  to  California. 

On  July  3rd,  Edwin  Adams  made  his  first  appear- 
ance at  this  theatre.  He  opened  in  the  character  of  "Rover" 
in  "Wild  Oats"  and  played  in  addition,  "Extremes,"  "Enoch 
Arden,"  and  "William"  in  "Black  Eyed  Susan."  Mr.  Adams 
filled  out  a  week  with  great  satisfaction  to  our  theatre 
goers,  the  managers,  and  the  company,  and  with  very  sat- 


96        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

isfactory  financial  results  to  himself.  He  was  a  gratification 
to  both  eyes  and  ears — a  brilliant  actor  with  a  melodious 
voice,  and  in  appearance  the  ideal  actor. 

The  following  week  John  McCullough,  who  had  with 
him  Helen  Tracy  as  a  leading  female  support,  played  a 
notable  engagement,  rendered  more  so  by  the  fact  that  Ed- 
win Adams  was  retained  to  appear  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  McCullough.  They  gave  "Damon  and  Pythias,"  with 
McCullough  as  "Damon"  and  Adams  as  "Pythias,"  and 
notwithstanding  McCullough  made  an  excellent  "Damon," 
so  convincing  was  Adams  as  "Pythias,"  that  the  critical 
Salt  Lakers  declared  it  was  "Pythias"  and  "Damon"  on  that 
occasion,  putting  the  brilliant  Adams  ahead  of  McCullough 
in  their  admiration.  Adams  played  "lago"  to  McCullough's 
"Othello"  and  even  strengthened  the  favorable  opinion  of 
him.  For  their  closing  performance  together,  "Hamlet" 
was  given  with  Adams  as  the  Prince  and  McCullough  as 
the  King.  Miss  Helen  Tracy  lent  some  lustre  to  the  triple 
alliance  and  this  engagement  is  remembered  as  one  of  the 
most  notable  ever  given  in  the  now  historic  theatre. 

Just  how  it  chanced  that  McCullough  and  Adams  got 
dates  so  close  together,  the  one  immediately  succeeding 
the  other,  I  have  forgotten,  but  as  Adams  was  going  to  the 
Pacific  coast  and  McCullough  and  Miss  Tracy  were  going 
East,  I  presume  that  their  meeting  here  was  purely  acci- 
dental. 

They  wrere  very  glad  to  see  each  other,  "John"  and 
"Ned,"  and  decided  to  have  a  good  time  while  they  were  to- 
gether ;  to  that  end  Adams,  who  was  in  no  great  hurry  to 
get  to  San  Francisco,  decided  to  stay  over  during  McCul- 
lough's engagement  and  play  in  some  of  his  pieces  with 
him,  which  he  did  as  stated  above.  The  combination  was  a 
strong  one,  and  no  doubt  helped  McCullough's  engagement, 
as  this  was  his  second  visit;  but  the  primary  object  of  the 
combination  was  evidently  to  have  a  good  time.  We  had 
an  actors'  club  here  at  that  early  day  which  must  not  be 
forgotten. 

On  January  i6th  preceding,  Milton  Nobles  played  the 
"Marble  Heart,"  appearing  as  Raphael.  Nobles  was  then  a 
young  actor,  comparatively  unknown.  He  was  on  his  way 
to  the  East,  where  some  years  later  he  became  widely  known 
through  his  plays  of  "The  Phoenix,"  "From  Sire  to  Son," 
etc. 

There  was  at  this  time  residing  in  Salt  Lake  a  gentle- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         97 

man  by  the  name  of  Bentham  Fabian.  Fabian  was  widely 
and  favorably  known  for  certain  peculiarities.  He  was 
extremely  fond  of  the  theatre,  and  every  actor  was  his 
friend.  He  was  one  of  those  versatile  fellows  that  could 
turn  his  hand  to  many  things.  He  organized  a  public  library 
here,  which  he  called  "The  Salt  Lake  Exchange  and  Read- 
ing Rooms,"  and  he  was  the  librarian.  It  was  while  Milton 
Nobles  was  here  that  Fabian  worked  up  a  "benefit"  for  this 
library,  at  which  Governor  Vaughn,  (then  Governor  of 
Utah),  recited  Poe's"  "Bells,"  and  Nobles  and  the  writer 
gave  the  third  act  of  "Othello"  (in  evening  dress),  Nobles 
reading  "lago,"  and  the  writer  "Othello."  There  were  sev- 
eral other  numbers  by  Fabian  and  others,  and  music  by  the 
Military  band  from  Fort  Douglas.  One  of  Fabian's  strong 
peculiarities  was  that  he  loved  his  pipe  and  glass  and  occa- 
sionally his  courtly  bearing  and  Chesterfieldian  manners 
would  get  a  little  lopsided  and  obscure.  This  benefit,  being 
a  sort  of  royal  occasion  with  Bentham,  he  had  a  fresh  keg  of 
beer  in  his  den  behind  the  library,  and  after  the  entertain- 
ment was  over  he  invited  all  the  performers  (except  the 
"band")  to  go  and  help  drink  it. 

Governor  Vaughn  having  a  prior  engagement,  declined, 
but  the  rest  of  us  adjourned  to  the  library.  Fabian,  eager  to 
treat  "the  boys,"  made  haste  to  tap  the  keg,  but  there  was  a 
decided  uncertainty  about  his  manipulation  of  the  mallet 
and  tap,  which  plainly  indicated  that  he  had  already  been 
tapping  something.  So  Cyrus  Hawley  (Judge  Hawley's 
son)  rather  impatiently  and  dramatically  exclaimed,  "Give 
me  the  daggers!"  (the  mallet  and  tap),  and  taking  them 
from  Fabian  with  the  air  of  an  expert  tapster,  he  proceeded 
to  drive  the  tap ;  he  made  a  misslick,  and  in  an  instant  he 
was  covered  from  head  to  foot  in  foamy  beer.  His  nice 
clothes  were  apparently  ruined,  and  he  was  roundly  sworn  at 
for  wasting  so  much  good  beer.  After  stopping  the  flood, 
there  proved  to  be  sufficient  left  to  make  all  hands  merry 
and  happy. 

About  this  time  Fabian,  who  was  a  great  projector  of 
schemes,  succeeded  in  organizing  an  actors'  club,  to  which 
he  made  us  all  pay  tribute,  not  only  the  actors,  but  a  num- 
ber of  other  professional  men  and  good  fellows  were  made 
members,  and  when  the  transient  "stars"  came  along,  we 
generally  contrived  to  give  them  a  good  time,  although  our 
quarters  were  not  so  pretentious  as  those  of  the  Alta  or  Com- 
cial  clubs  of  today.  During  the  Adams-McCullough  en- 


98        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

gagements  these  actors  were  the  guests  of  "the  club,"  and 
dear  old  Fabian  was  in  his  glory.  Fabian  was  the  president 
of  the  club,  and  he  certainly  wined  and  dined  McCullough 
and  Adams  to  their  hearts'  content.  On  their  closing  night 
we  had  a  great  carousal,  even  Miss  Tracy  did  not  escape.  It 
was  a  memorable  night  truly.  Everybody  present  seemed 
determined  to  give  "John"  McCullough  and  "Ned"  Adams 
a  royal  time,  and  they  had  it. 

"Care  mad  to  see  a  man  sae  happy ; 
E'en  drowned  himsel  among  the  nappy. 
Kings  may  be  blest,  but  Tarn  was  glorious, 
O'er  all  the  ills  of  life  victorious." 

Burns'  "Tarn  O'Shanter. 

The  stock  company  played  one  week,  even  after  this 
brilliant  triumvirate  had  united  its  course,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Carter  doing  leads.  That  they  could  hold  the  interest  of 
the  public  after  such  a  combinaton  of  talent  as  Adams, 
McCullough  and  Tracy  dropped  away  from  them  was  not 
to  be  expected,.  In  looking  back  at  it  from  this  distance,  the 
wise  thing  for  the  managers  to  have  done  would  have  been 
to  close  the  season  with  that  extraordinary  engagement,  but 
the  Carters  were  here  and  had  a  play  or  two  to  exploit,  and 
struggled  through  a  week  when  the  management  were  glad 
to  close  the  season,  with  the  Pioneer  holiday,  July  24th.  Here 
was  another  case  of  playing  'all  summer,  for  the  theatre 
only  remained  closed  about  ten  nights,  opening  on  the  loth 
of  August.  The  advent  of  the  Carters  into  Salt  Lake  and 
their  engagement  at  the  Salt  Lake  theatre  was  not  devoid  of 
interest.  It  was  well-known  to  many  that  Mrs.  Carter  ( Car- 
rie Cogswell)  had  been  the  wife  of  the  veteran  tragedian, 
Mr.  T.  A.  Lyne,  who  was  very  much  perturbed  at  their 
presence  here.  He  declared  that  she  had  come  here  expressly 
to  annoy  him,  and  nothing  could  convince  him  to  the  con- 
trary, so  when  after  a  short  stay  here,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carter 
and  their  son,  Lincoln  J.,  now  the  celebrated  Chicago  play- 
builder  and  manager,  took  their  departure  for  California, 
Lyne's  heart  was  joyful.  There  were  two  children,  a  boy 
and  a  girl,  the  offspring  of  the  Lyne-Cogswell  marriage. 
The  court,  in  giving  Lyne  the  deliverance  which  he  sought 
on  the  grounds  of  desertion,  gave  him  the  custody  of  the 
two  children,  and  he  had  them  in  Salt  Lake  attending  school, 
and  he  was  very  apprehensive  that  the  mother  might  kid- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         99 

nap  them.  So  when  she  had  departed  without  any  signs  of 
having  molested  the  children  the  veteran  was  happy,  for  he 
never  dreamed  they  would  return,  but  alas !  for  the  contrari- 
ness of  human  nature,  in  this  he  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. Lyne  had  been  for  the  second  time  a  widower  when 
he  met  Miss  Carrie  Cogswell.  She  was  about  sixteen  and 
he  about  fifty.  Lyne  at  this  age  was  an  active,  fine-looking 
man  with  hair  as  dark  as  a  raven's  wing  and  a  very  com- 
manding presence.  Miss  Cogswell  was  enamored  of  the  stage 
and  soon  became  not  only  Mrs.  Lyne,  but  "leading  lady" 
for  Lyne.  After  some  years  of  married  life,  and  two  chil- 
dren had  been  born  to  them,  there  came  a  cloud  in  their  sky. 
In  the  same  company  chanced  a  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Carter,  whose  father,  Jared  Carter,  had  been  a  leading  light 
in  the  Mormon  Church  in  the  Nauvoo  days.  Disparity  in 
age  and  incompatibility  of  temperament  between  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lyne  gradually  brought  about  a  separation  and  di- 
vorce. By  this  time  both  had  sought  and  found  new  matri- 
monial alliances.  Mrs.  Lyne  had  some  years  now  been  Mrs. 
Carter  and  Mr.  Lyne  had  found  consolation  in  a  French 
widow  whose  Christian  name  was  Madeline.  Such  was  the 
situation  at  the  time  when  the  Carters  made  their  first  visit 
to  Salt  Lake,  and  the  veteran  tragedian  having  settled  down 
in  Salt  Lake  to  end  his  days,  was  in  mortal  dread  of  the  Car- 
ters fixing  their  future  home  here  too. 


100  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SEASON    OF    '7I-'72. 

The  season  of  '71  and  '72  opened  on  August  the  4th, 
only  two  weeks  after  the  closing  of  '70  and  '71.  The  Lin- 
gards  were  the  opening  attraction ;  they  played  only  two 
nights.  The  Lingards  consisted  of  Horace  W.  Lingard,  Alice 
Lingard,  his  wife,  and  "Dickie"  Lingard,  a  sister  to  Horace. 
They  played  short  cast  pieces  and  did  not  require  many  mem- 
bers of  the  company.  The  repertoire  included  "Caste,"  "The 
Weaver  of  Spitaefield,"  "Morning  Call,"  "A  Happy  Pair," 
etc.  They  were  followed  closely  by  Kate  Newton  and 
Charlie  Backus  of  minstrel  fame,  who  stayed  two  nights ; 
and  these  were  succeeded  by  the  Hyers  Sisters,  a  colored 
concert  troupe,  who  gave  five  concerts,  opening  August  the 
9th  and  playing  up  to  the  I3th. 

On  the  21  st  Joseph  and  Mrs.  Murphy  made  their  debut 
in  drama — the  medium  being  a  hash-up  of  improbable  inci- 
dents put  together  to  string  Joe's  specialties  on.  He  played 
a  sort  of  stage  detective  and  disguised  variously  as  an  Irish- 
man, a  Swede,  a  Dutch  Girl,  and  a  Nigger.  This  was  the 
first  performance  of  "Help"  on  any  stage,  and  should  have 
been  the  last,  if  merit  alone  counted. 

The  Salt  Lake  Theatre  was  made  the  bridge  to  carry  a 
number  of  new  dramatic  ventures  across  the  quicksands  of 
dramatic  speculation.  Afraid  to  make  the  trial  of  a  new 
play  in  San  Francisco  or  New  York,  they  have  brought  them 
to  Salt  Lake  to  "try  them  on  the  dog."  "Help"  ran  three 
nights,  2 ist  to  the  24th,  and  was  fairly  launched  on  the  dra- 
matic sea,  and  Joe  Murphy  was  no  longer  a  blackfaced 
comedian  but  a  versatile  actor  of  the  Irish  comedy  per- 
suasion. "Help"  served  Joe  faithfully  for  several  seasons 
and  put  him  on  Easy  street,  financially. 

August  25th  the  Stock  Company,  strengthened  with  the 
Cogswell-Carter  troupe,  resumed.  J.  W.  Carter  was  en- 
gaged to  play  leads  for  a  time ;  McKenzie  was  absent,  Lind- 
say was  gone,  Hardie  had  deserted,  and  the  management 
were  in  sore  straits  for  a  leading  actor.  The  Stock  played 
from  August  25th  to  September  25th,  when  Mrs.  Lander 
opened  a  star  engagement  in  "Mary  Stuart,"  continuing  one 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  101 

week,  during  which  she  gave,  in  addition  to  "Mary  Stuart," 
"Camilla,"  "The  Hunchback"  and  "Marie  Antoinette."  Mrs. 
Lander  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  bright  particular  stars  of 
the  American  stage.  She  was  a  woman  of  superior  intelli- 
gence and  rare  dramatic  talent  and  played  a  fine  engage- 
ment. 

After  the  Lander  engagement,  the  house  closed  for  a 
few  nights,  to  give  the  Stock  company  a  chance  to  prepare 
for  the  approaching  October  conference.  The  management 
could  always  count  on  packed  houses  during  these  confer- 
ences, and  it  was  like  giving  money  away  to  engage  any 
stellar  attractions  at  these  times,  so  the  Stock  company  was 
up  against  their  work  once  more.  On  October  3rd  they 
opened  and  played  through  conference,  to  the  Qth. 

On  the  loth  Robert  Me  Wade  made  his  first  bow  to  a 
Salt  Lake  audience,  in  "Rip  Van  Winkle."  McWade  had  a 
very  good  reputation  through  the  west  in  this  character, 
and  drew  a  very  good  house  for  his  first  night.  If  we  had 
never  seen  "Jim  Hearne"  as  "Rip  Van  Winkle"  we  might 
have  thought  more  of  McWade,  but  the  impression  Hearne 
made  in  the  character  was  so  strong  and  still  so  fresh  in 
the  public  mind  that  McWade's  "Rip"  did  not  become  a  fa- 
vorite. He  played  some  five  nights  and  then  the  Stock  had 
to  go  alone  again  for  a  while,  so  on  the  i6th  they  resumed 
and  played  up  to  November  7,  only  relieved  a  little  by  the 
Japanese  jugglers,  who  put  in  an  hour  each  evening  for  a 
week,  from  October  23rd  to  28th.  On  November  Qth, 
Johnny  Allen  and  Alice  Harrison  opened  a  four  nights'  en- 
gagement, closing  on  the  I3th.  On  the  I5th  the  Stock  re- 
sumed the  even  tenor  of  its  way,  and  played  unassisted  up 
to  December  loth,  when  J.  M.  Ward  came  in  with  "Through 
by  Daylight,"  and  got  through  by  gaslight  in  two  nights. 
Jim  \Vard  was  a  very  versatile  and  capable  acter  with  a  racy 
Irish  brogue,  that  was  suggestive  of  the  "ould  sod."  He 
has  had  rare  experiences  in  theatrical  life,  and  they  would 
make  a  volume  of  interesting  reading,  but  as  he  is  still  hav- 
ing them,  being  yet  upon  the  stage,  it  is  too  early  to  add 
his  experiences  to  the  general  history  of  the  stage,  especially 
his  matrimonial  ones. 

An  entire  troupe  of  juvenile  actors  followed  Jim  Ward's 
advent  into  Salt  Lake  City.  Whether  Jim  was  in  any  way 
ace  ^untable,  we  are  not  advised ;  they  were  called  "The 
Nathan  Juvenile  Troupe,"  and  put  in  one  week  from  the 
1 5th  to  the  20th. 


102        THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Oliver  Doud  Byron  followed  them,  opening  on  Decem- 
ber 2  ist,  and  playing  till  January  3rd,  "Across  the  Conti- 
nent," being  his  piece  de  resistance.  Ben  McCullough  filled 
out  the  week.  Eliza  Couldock,  who  was  in  delicate  health, 
and  had  been  left  here  by  her  father  after  their  last  engage- 
ment, was  now  called  in  for  a  week  to  assist  the  Stock  in  a 
production  of  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin."  Miss  Couldock  was 
cast  for  the  character  of  Eliza.  The  writer,  who  was  play- 
ing George  Harris  and  Legree,  well  remembers  how  ner- 
vous and  poorly  the  lady  was  during  this  week's  engage- 
ment. She  was  over  ambitious  and  worked  beyond  her 
strength,  and  it  was  evident  she  was  in  a  decline.  This  was 
her  last  appearance,  poor  girl,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
we  were  paying  the  last  respects,  and  with  loving  hands 
laying  her  gently  i'  the  earth,  alongside  of  dear  Annie 
Lockhart,  whom  we  had  performed  the  same  service  for 
only  a  short  time  before.  "Lay  her  i'  the  earth  and  from  her 
fair  and  unpolluted  flesh  may  violets  spring." 

Rose  Evans  came  to  us  for  a  second  engagement,  after 
the  "Uncle  Tom"  week,  and  played  from  January  8th  to  the 
27th,  repeating  her  former  repertory.  Stock  company  put 
in  the  following  week  alone,  then  followed  E.  T.  Stetson  for 
a  week  in  his  melodramas,  "Neck  and  Neck"  and  "Old  Ken- 
tuck."  This  puts  us  along  to  February  7th,  '72,  when  the 
Stock  played  another  week  without  any  star ;  then  the  Stock 
got  a  week's  rest,  the  time  from  the  I5th  to  the  2Oth  being 
filled  by  Purdy,  Scott,  and  Fostelle's  minstrels.  Refreshed 
with  a  week's  vacation,  the  Stock  company  started  in  afresh 
on  February  22nd — great  George's  birthday — and  played  till 
April  Qth,  getting  through  another  conference  without  the 
aid  of  a  star.  Here  the  company  had  another  brief  respite 
while  "The  Child  American  Concert  Company"  filled  time 
from  April  loth  to  the  I3th,  when  the  company  resumed 
their  labors  and  played  up  to  the  2oth.  On  April  22nd,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  F.  M.  Bates  began  a  stellar  engagement  which  ran 
three  weeks,  up  to  May  nth.  Mrs.  Bates  was  the  lead  horse 
in  this  team,  and  the  repertory  was  selected  to  give  her 
prominence  as  the  principal  star,  and  the  announcement 
should  have  been  Mrs.  and  Mr.  F.  M.  Bates.  She  played 
"Pigeon  the  Torment,"  "Camille,"  "Leah,"  and  "Lu- 
cretia  Borgia,"  and  all  the  great  popular  roles  for  tragedi- 
ennes, and  was  the  first  to  introduce  to  us  the  great  historic 
play  of  "Elizabeth."  The  Bateses  made  a  very  good  impres- 
sion and  were  so  pleased  with  the  result  of  their  engage- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  103 

ment  that  they  remained  in  Salt  Lake  during  the  ensuing 
summer.  Blanche  Bates,  now  a  very  successful  star  under 
David  Belasco's  management,  was  with  the  Bateses  then, 
and  as  she  had  not  been  christened  Blanche,  she  was  just 
called  Baby  Bates. 

May  1 3th  to  i6th  was  filled  by  Berger's  Swiss  Bell 
Ringers,  and  Sol  Smith  Russell,  who  was  then  doing  spe- 
cialties with  the  Bergers — little  dreaming  of  his  "Poor  Re- 
lation" or  "Peaceful  Valley." 

A  few  nights  of  stock  followed  this,  and  not  proving 
strong,  the  Bateses  were  re-engaged  and  put  in  another 
week,  from  the  22nd  to  the  28th,  introducing  some  new 
plays  of  lighter  caliber. 

May  29th  the  Majiltons  put  in  a  date,  and  the  stock 
then  played  a  lone  hand  up  to  June  8th.  Billy  Emerson's 
minstrels  held  the  boards  June  loth,  nth  and  I2th,  and  Joe 
Murphy  came  and  gave  us  some  more  of  his  "Help,"  I3th, 
1 4th,  1 5th.  Stock  put  in  another  week  alone,  I7th  to  22nd, 
when  Charles  Wheatleigh  opened  a  return  engagement,  24th 
and  played  till  July  ist.  Wheatleigh  gave  "Lottery  of  Life," 
"Flying  Scud,"  "After  Dark"  and  "Arrah  Na  Pogue." 
That  was  Charley  Wheatleigh's  farewell,  we  never  saw  him 
more. 

The  Bergers  and  Sol  Smith  Russell  had  swung  around 
the  circle  and  came  back  for  a  second  engagement.  They 
found  Salt  Lake  a  congenial  and  profitable  place  and  put 
in  another  three  nights  with  us,  4th,  5th  and  6th. 

James  M.  Hardie,  who  had  just  returned  from  a  long 
professional  engagement  in  San  Francisco,  played  a  two 
nights'  engagement,  opening  in  a  play  called  "Early  Cali- 
fornia." Season  closed  June  8th.  "Jim"  Hardie  left  Salt 
Lake  for  the  East  soon  after  this — his  last  appearance  here, 
as  it  proved,  for  he  has  never  since  returned.  After  play- 
ing in  support  of  stars  several  seasons,  "Hoey  and  Hardie" 
starred  for  several  seasons  in  "A  Child  of  the  State,"  but  it 
was  not  a  money  maker,  and  after  several  losing  seasons 
the  firm  of  Hoey  and  Hardie  dissolved,  and  Jim  cast  about 
for  a  new  "angel."  Hoey's  "old  man"  had  been  the  angel 
in  the  "Child  of  State"  venture  and  it  was  understood  at  the 
time  that  after  making  up  some  rather  heavy  deficits,  he 
grew  weary  and  refused  to  put  up  any  longer  for  "The  Child 
of  the  State."  Hardie  had  some  money  which  came  to  him 
through  his  wife,  who  had  an  annuity,  but  "Jim"  had  a 
strong  touch  of  the  "canny  Scot"  in  him,  that  always  im- 


104  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

pelled  him  to  let  someone  else  "put  up,"  In  time  he  found 
a  new  "angel,"  and  one  more  to  his  taste,  for  this  one  was  of 
the  female  persuasion,  and  Jim  always  was  a  favorite  with 
the  ladies.  He  caught  a  society  woman  who  was  stage 
struck  and  wanted  to  star;  she  had  the  money  to  pay  for 
the  privilege,  and  this  was  just  such  a  snap  as  "Jim"  want- 
ed. So  the  lady  put  up  the  money  to  put  out  the  show,  and 
she  was  starred  in  conjunction  with  Jim.  The  firm  name 
stood  "Hardie  and  Von  Leer."  "A  Brave  Woman"  was 
the  name  of  the  play  they  chose  for  the  venture ;  there  was 
a  great  significance  in  that  title.  The  show  went  out  with 
a  stock  of  $1,200  worth  of  special  printing,  so  Hardie  him- 
self informed  me  in  New  York.  They  went  into  the  south, 
but  in  six  weeks  the  company  was  disbanded  and  Hardie 
and  Von  Leer  were  back  in  New  York.  Then  they  got  up  a 
cheaper  company  and  went  into  the  dime  museums,  where 
they  made  a  little  money.  The  dime  museums  were  very 
popular  just  then  and  a  number  of  good  attractions  played 
them.  The  play  of  "A  Brave  Woman,"  however,  was  not 
an  unqualified  success,  although  Sarah  Von  Leer  seemed  to 
be,  and  held  onto  her  partnership  through  thick  and  thin. 
After  a  while  Hardie  got  a  play  called  "On  the  Frontier," 
and  conceived  the  idea  of  getting  a  brass  band  made  up  of 
real  Indians.  It  proved  a  ten  strike,  and,  after  doing  a  big 
business  with  it  in  this  country  for  two  seasons,  he  took  it 
to  England  in  '93  and  made  a  barrel  of  money  with  it.  Sarah 
is  still  his  partner  and  still  stays  by  him.  They  built  a  fine 
theatre  in  Manchester,  which  has  been  their  headquarters 
for  the  last  twenty  years.  Mrs.  Hardie  and  her  daughters 
have  been  back  in  Salt  Lake  for  a  number  of  years.  They 
have  never  crossed  the  ocean  to  join  the  husband  and  father. 
It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  dramatic  profession  is 
altogether  too  prolific  of  this  sort  of  thing.  Its  tendencies 
are  to  draw  even  well  mated  couples  apart — a  hundred  cases 
could  be  cited;  but  we  will  let  the  reader  think  the  matter 
over  and  divine  the  cause. 

On  July  3  ist  Jim  McKnight,  a  young  fellow  of  am- 
bition and  talent,  put  on  a  play  of  his  own  writing,  which 
he  called  "The  Robbers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,"  with  an 
exclusive  amateur  company.  Young  McKnight  drew  on  his 
imagination  for  his  robbers;  had  he  written  years  later  he 
could  have  taken  his  characters  from  life,  with  Butch  Cas- 
sidy  and  the  whole  Robber's  Roost  gang  in  the  cast. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  105 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SEASON   OF   '72-^73. 

The  season  of  '72  and  '73  opened  on  August  7th  with 
George  Chaplin  and  Clara  Jean  Walters  as  stock  stars.  They 
opened  in  the  classical  drama  of  "Buffalo  Bill."  This  was 
a  long  time  before  Cody  started  his  wild  west  show  and 
probably  this  play  was  what  put  him  in  the  notion  of  start- 
ing in  the  show  business.  Chaplin  made  a  fine  Buffalo  Bill, 
and  if  Cody  saw  him  in  the  part  it  must  have  made  him 
envious  to  see  another  fellow  stealing  his  thunder.  The 
combination  ran  two  weeks,  when  Stetson  came  in  "Neck 
and  Neck"  with  us  and  played  a  week,  presenting  also 
"Daring  Dick"  and  "The  Fatal  Glass."  Chaplin  had  a  de- 
cided objection  to  supporting  male  stars  of  mediocre  ability, 
and  second  class  repertory,  and  so  he  generally  laid  off  on 
such  occasions  as  the  Stetson  engagement;  besides  it  was  a 
matter  of  economy  with  the  management ;  they  did  not  need 
him,  so  George  laid  off  during  Stetson's  week,  and  then 
came  with  his  "Seven  Sisters"  the  following  week.  George 
was  immense  as  the  big  sister  and  was  just  a  trifle  vain  over 
the  fact  that  he  could  outshine  all  the  women  in  the  com- 
pany in  female  apparel. 

On  September  2nd  Ada  Gray  opened  a  week's  engage- 
ment in  "Article  47"  and  gave  besides,  "Jezebel"  and 
"Whose  Wife."  Ada  was  a  pleasing  actress,  of  fine  ap- 
pearance, but  didn't  seem  to  quicken  the  pulse  of  her  Salt 
Lake  patrons,  after  their  seeing  some  of  the  greater  ones. 

On  the  9th  Chaplin  and  Walters  resumed  as  stock  stars 
and  played  continuously  up  to  the  23rd,  T.  A.  Lyne  taking  a 
benefit  on  the  2Oth  instant  and  playing  "Richelieu."  On  the 
23rd  Chaplin  dropped  out  of  the  company,  closing  in 
"School,"  and  on  the  25th  the  stock  company  kept  right 
along  with  Clara  Jean  Walters  featured  through  the  October 
Conference  and  up  to  the  I2th. 

On  October  1st  W.  T.  Harris  made  his  initial  bow  to 
the  Salt  Lake  public ;  he  came  from  one  of  the  Omaha  thea- 
tres, accompanied  by  Annie  Ward  and  Miss  Blanche  de  Bar, 
a  sister  of  the  popular  manager  and  actor,  Ben  de  Bar.  Miss 


106  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

De  Bar  had  already  grown  old  in  the  profession,  but  proved 
nevertheless  a  very  useful  member  of  the  stock  company. 
She  played  old  women  and  characters  and  on  more  than 
one  occasion  proved  her  agility  in  spite  of  years  and  gray 
hairs,  by  doing  an  Irish  jig  or  a  "Dolly  Varden"  lilt.  The 
rag  time  had  not  yet  come  in  vogue  or  Miss  De  Bar  could 
have  done  a  cake  walk  with  the  best. 

"Jimmy"  Harris,  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  cut  quite  a 
figure  in  the  future  history  of  the  theatre  as  manager  and 
deserves  more  than  a  passing  notice.  He  was  featured  on 
his  opening  night  in  an  Irish  farce,  "That  Rascal  Pat,"  and 
made  a  very  fair  impression.  Miss  Annie  Ward,  who  ac- 
companied Harris  to  Salt  Lake,  and  who  at  first  was  sup- 
posed to  be  "Jimmy's"  wife  or  fiancee  (from  all  appear- 
ances), was  a  young  woman  who  had  been  beautiful,  but 
her  face  was  now  so  deeply  pitted  with  small  pox  that  she 
invariably  in  public  kept  it  covered  with  a  veil,  except  when 
on  the  stage,  where  she  could  veil  the  blemish  under  a  thick 
coat  of  grease  paint,  and,  this  artistically  done,  she  present- 
ed as  fair  a  face  as  one  could  wish  to  look  at.  "Annie," 
'twas  said,  had  been  the  fiancee  of  the  great  African  ex- 
plorer, Henry  Stanley,  before  he  caught  the  African  fever, 
which  tore  him  away  from  her  and  all  his  early  associations. 
Annie  found  consolation  for  her  bereavement  in  a  close 
friendship  with  "Jimmy."  So  close  was  their  alliance  that 
on  their  joining  the  stock  company  here  together,  everybody 
judged  they  were  man  and  wife,  or  ought  to  be.  They  had 
taken  a  room  together  in  old  man  McDonald's  house,  just 
under  the  shadow  of  St.  Mark's  church,  and  everything 
went  well  for  a  little  while — but  by  some  inadvertence  the 
good  Mr.  McDonald  discovered  that  they  had  not  secured 
the  necessary  license  for  rooming  together,  and  he  very 
promptly  and  perhaps  rudely  gave  them  notice  to  vacate. 
They  thought  the  old  man  was  a  crank  and  quite  unreason- 
able, to  turn  them  out  of  his  house  for  such  a  slight  offense, 
in  a  community  where  many  of  the  men  were  living  with  a 
plurality  of  wives.  They  had  an  idea  it  was  a  sort  of  Oneida 
community  here;  free  love,  etc.  They  secured  another 
lodging  house,  but  the  lady  who  ran  that  was  a  very  strict 
Mormon  also,  and  so  soon  as  she  found  out  how  matters 
stood  she  served  them  with  a  notice  to  quit.  "Jimmy"  got  a 
"hunch"  from  some  one  that  he  would  have  to  marry 
Annie  or  sever  the  alliance  altogether,  as  the  Mormons 
would  not  stand  for  anything  of  this  kind.  It  was  even  in- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  107 

timated  to  him  that  he  might  be  indicted  for  lascivious  co- 
hob,  which  so  terrified  him  that  he  suddenly  ceased  his  rela- 
tionship with  Annie  altogether,  and  left  her  to  paddle  her 
own  canoe.  Those  who  were  acquainted  with  the  circum- 
stances have  always  blamed  Harris  for  his  treatment  of 
Annie  Ward ;  he  should  have  married  her,  was  the^  r 
thought,  but  he  turned  away  from  her  in  this  time  of  mutual 
trouble.  His  offense  was  condoned,  and  gradually  he 
worked  himself  into  favor  until  he  became  quite  an  object 
of  interest  with  the  ladies  about  the  theatre,  while  those  same 
ladies  turned  up  their  noses  at  Miss  Ward,  and  made  it  so 
unpleasant  for  her,  that  she  was  glad  to  terminate  her  en- 
gagement long  before  the  season  was  over,  and  go  back  to 
her  former  haunts.  Poor  girl !  She  went  down  hill  rapidly 
after  returning  and  died  wretchedly  in  St.  Louis  a  year  or  so 
later,  while  Harris  remained  here,  married  one  of  Brigham 
Young's  daughters  and  was  given  the  management  of  the 
theatre,  which  he  held  for  several  years.  Harris  and  his 
wife  went  to  New  York  in  about  '80,  where  they  have  re- 
sided ever  since.  "Jimmy,"  who  has  wealthy  relatives  there, 
has  a  good  easy  position  and  raised  a  nice  family  of  four  or 
five  children,  to  whom  he  has  bequeathed  his  real  name  of 
Ferguson,  that  of  Harris  being  merely  adopted  to  hide  him 
from  his  relatives  while  he  was  a  profane  stage  player.  So 
runs  the  wheel  of  fortune. 

Hamlet.     I  did  love  you  once. 

Ophelia.  Indeed,  my  honored  lord,  you  made  me  be- 
lieve so. 

Hamlet.  You  should  not  have  believed  me ;  for  virtue 
can  not  so  inoculate  our  old  stock  but  we  shall  relish  of  it. 
I  loved  you  not. 

Ophelia.     I  was  the  more  deceived. 

Hamlet.     Get  thee  to  a  nunnery. 

— Shakespeare. 

On  November  8th  Mr.  Al  Thorne  was  added  to  the 
stock  company  and  made  his  first  appearance  in  the  play 
of  "Maud's  Peril."  Al  Thorne  came  to  Utah  as  a  soldier 
in  Johnston's  army.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Camp  Floyd 
Theatre  company  and  played  with  Dick  White,  Mrs.  Tuckett 
et  al.  He  contrived  in  some  way  to  remain  in  Utah 
when  the  Civil  War  broke  out,  instead  of  following  "the  un- 
certain chance  of  war."  He  had  married  and  settled  in  the 


108  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

north  part  of  the  territory,  and  was  associated  with  the 
Richmond  Dramatic  Company  for  several  years  and  now 
found  a  place  in  the  Salt  Lake  stock,  where  he  remained 
for  several  years,  doing  excellent  work  in  "heavies"  and 
"old  men."  Thorne  joined  the  Mormon  church  and  got 
more  family  than  he  could  take  care  of — two  families  in 
fact,  which  proved  his  ruin.  He  became  estranged  from 
them  both,  and  for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  was 
practically  an  exile,  living  a  solitary  life  in  the  mining  camps 
of  Nevada.  He  died  three  years  ago  at  De  Lamar,  Nevada,  a 
prematurely  old  man,  with  no  relative  near.  But  Al  always 
had  friends,  for  he  was  a  good  natured,  generous  hearted 
man — his  own  worst  enemy.  "Requiescat  in  pace." 

George  Chaplin  having  exhausted  his  extensive  and 
variegated  repertory,  and  taken  his  departure  for  pastures 
new,  the  stock  company,  with  Clara  Jean  Walters,  played 
through  the  October  conference.  The  very  palpable  weak- 
ness occasioned  by  Chaplin's  retirement  was  filled  by  F.  M. 
Bates,  who  with  his  wife  and  Baby  Blanche  had  been  rusti- 
cating in  the  vicinity  ever  since  their  engagement  in  the 
previous  May.  Bates  opened  on  the  I4th  of  October,  as 
joint  star  with  Miss  Walters,  and  continued  until  November 
2 ist,  the  only  interruption  being  a  three  nights'  engagement 
of  the  Australian  actor,  James  J.  Bartlett,  who  gave  "David 
Garrick,"  "New  Magdalen,"  and  "Married  for  Money." 

On  November  25th  Mrs.  Bates  opened  her  second  en- 
gagement at  this  theatre,  supported  by  her  husband 
(Frank),  Miss  Walters  and  the  stock  company.  She  played 
two  weeks,  repeating  mostly  her  favorite  roles,  "Elizabeth," 
"Lucretia  Borgia,"  "Camille,"  etc.  Mrs.  Bates  during  the 
time  her  husband,  Frank,  had  been  playing  with  the  stock 
company,  had  played  an  engagement  with  John  Piper,  the 
Virginia  City  manager.  Returning  here  she  sent  ahead  of 
her  to  exploit  her  return  engagement  Mr.  John  Maguire, 
who  has  since  made  a  name  as  a  theatrical  manager,  but  who 
was  then  a  very  enthusiastic  disciple  of  Thespis,  and  was 
ambitious  to  make  a  mark  in  the  histrionic  art.  Maguire 
by  his  own  confession  had  been  educated  for  the  Catholic 
priesthood,  and  certainly  a  good  priest  was  spoiled  when 
John  turned  Thespian,  but  the  stage  fever  caught  him,  and 
struck  in  so  deep  that  he  was  irrevocably  lost  to  a  profession 
which  he  was  capable  of  adorning,  and  exposed  "to  the 
slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune"  that  are  generally 
in  quiver  to  be  hurled  at  the  unfortunate  actor  or  manager 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  109 

who  does  not  achieve  an  unqualified  success.  At  the  time 
of  which  I  write,  1872,  John  Maguire  was  young  (about  30, 
eh,  John  ?) ,  and  handsome ;  he  was  often  mistaken  for  Law- 
rence Barrett,  the  tragedian,  which  was  a  flattering  compli- 
ment to  John,  as  he  was  a  very  great  admirer  of  "Larry" 
Barrett.  We  don't  know  just  how  it  came  about,  but  he 
was  cast  in  Mrs.  Bates'  opening  performance  of  "Eliza- 
beth" for  the  part  of  the  young  Scottish  king,  James  VI,  un- 
less it  was  that  he  had  played  it  in  Virginia  City  with  the 
lady,  and  she  thought  he  looked  the  part  so  well.  Any  way 
the  company  was  numerous  and  the  managers  let  John  out 
after  his  performance  of  King  James.  The  week  following 
the  Bates  engagement,  there  being  no  star  attraction  booked, 
the  managers  gave  it  to  the  writer,  who  had  not  been  play- 
ing in  the  stock  company  that  season.  I  arranged  a  reper- 
toire for  the  week  which  included  "The  Duke's  Motto," 
"Macbeth,"  "Louis  XI,"  "The  Stranger,"  "Jack  Cade,"  and 
"The  Three  Guardsmen."  A  very  ambitious  attempt,  as 
I  view  it  now,  but  all  parts  that  I  was  "up"  in,  having  played 
them  in  the  company  before.  While  rehearsing  before  I 
opened,  Maguire,  who  was  out  of  a  job  and  evidently  out  of 
money,  come  to  me  and  in  a  very  friendly  and  confidential 
way  informed  me  that  he  had  just  received  the  bells.  "The 
bells?"  I  inquired,  "what  bells?"  "Why  Henry  Irving's 
Bells,  that  has  just  completed  a  year's  run  in  London." 
"Take  my  advice,  John,"  said  he,  "take  down  some  of  those 
'old'  chestnuts  you  have  billed  and  put  on  'The  Bells'  for 
two  nights  in  their  place  and  you'll  be  money  in  by  it."  "Oh, 
that's  impossible,"  I  objected,  "my  plans  for  the  week  are  ar- 
ranged and  cast,  besides  I  know  nothing  about  the  play  of 
The  Bells.' ':  Maguire  was  earnest,  however,  for  he  had 
a  point  to  make,  so  he  urged  me  to  make  a  change.  "I  have 
two  printed  copies  of  the  play,"  says  he,  "and  will  let  you 
have  them  and  copy  the  remainder  of  the  parts  for  you  for 
$10.  I  want  to  get  to  Pioche;  things  are  booming  there 
and  I  am  short  of  money ;  you  can  advertise  the  wonderful 
run  the  play  has  had  in  London,  and  you'll  be  the  first  to 
play  it  west  of  New  York,  where  Studley  is  playing  it  now." 
John  arguments  prevailed  with  me  and  I  took  down 
"Louis  XI"  and  "The  Strangers"  and  put  up  "The  Bells" 
for  the  Wednesday  and  Thursday  nights.  Maguire  deliv- 
ered the  goods,  got  his  money  and  took  the  stage  for  Pioche. 
Bidding  me  good  bye  and  good  luck,  he  says,  "There's  a 
theatre  down  there,  and  if  I  can  secure  it,  you  will  hear 


110  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

from  me  before  long."  "The  Bells"  gave  me  the  hardest 
day's  study  I  ever  did;  playing  "Macbeth"  the  night  before 
and  staying  out  later  than  was  discreet,  I  was  reading 
"Mathias"  at  rehearsal  next  morning  to  play  that  night,  but 
we  got  through  it  fairly  well,  and  to  my  surprise  the  local 
papers  praised  the  performance  highly  next  morning,  but 
"The  Bells"  did  not  prove  the  great  drawing  card  Maguire 
had  so  sanguinely  predicted,  the  older  and  better  known 
plays  drawing  better. 

On  Friday  evening,  while  playing  "Jack  Cade,"  a  few 
of  my  admirers  sent  up  a  request  to  have  me  play  "Othello" 
on  the  following  night  instead  of  "The  Guardsmen,"  with 
Mr.  F.  M.  Bates  as  Othello,  Mrs.  Bates  as  Emelia  and  my- 
self as  lago.  I  should  have  promptly  decided  not  to  make 
the  change,  but  nothing  in  the  way  of  work  seemed  too 
onerous  for  me,  and  too  willing  to  oblige,  I  sent  back  word 
that  if  they  could  get  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates  to  volunteer  I 
would  make  the  change.  Some  of  them  waited  on  the 
Bateses  with  the  result  that  Mrs.  Bates  declined  to  be 
Emelia,  and  Mr.  Bates  had  never  played  Othello,  but  would 
play  lago  if  I  would  do  Othello.  I  was  in  Mr.  Bates'  fix, 
having  played  lago  several  times  but  never  Othello. 
However,  I  consented  to  try  it  and  gave  myself  another 
hard  day's  study  to  get  perfect  in  Othello.  Next 
morning  Sloan,  in  the  Herald,  roasted  me  for  playing 
a  "star"  part  like  Othello  in  stock  costumes,  notwith- 
standing I  had  been  wearing  stock  costumes  all  the  week. 
He  spoke  rather  favorably  of  my  acting,  however,  which 
was  more  than  I  should  have  expected.  I  would  not  be 
nearly  so  accommodating  now.  This  my  first  "stellar  en- 
gagement closed  on  December  I4th,  1872.  The  record 
shows  that  the  farce  of  "The  Spectre  Bridegroom"  was 
played  after  Othello,  with  Phil  Margetts  in  his  great  part 
of  Diggory.  In  those  "palmy  days  of  the  drama,"  it  was 
quite  usual  to  have  a  farce  after  a  five-act  tragedy.  On  bene- 
fit occasions  not  infrequently  there  would  be  a  long  play, 
then  an  olio  of  singing  and  a  fancy  dance,  and  a  farce  to 
close  the  "evening's  entertainment." 

During  this  engagement  Clara  Jean  Walters  played 
the  leading  female  roles,  and  rendered  effective  support,  as 
indeed  she  always  did.  She  was  the  most  capable  and  versa- 
tile "leading  lady"  the  stock  company  ever  had  and  remained 
with  it  for  several  seasons  a  well-established  favorite. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  H] 

Carl  Bosco,  a  very  clever  magician,  put  in  two  nights 
following  the  Lindsay  engagement,  i6th  and  I7th,  and  Mrs. 
Chanfrau  opened  the  I9th  inst.  for  two  nights  and  appeared 
in  "A  Wife's  Ordeal"  and  "The  Honeymoon."  On  the  26th 
John  T.  Raymond  opened  a  two  weeks'  engagement,  giving 
•Toodles,"  "Only  a  Jew,"  "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  and  "The 
Cricket  on  the  Hearth."  Johnny  Allen  and  Alice  Harrison 
and  "Little  Mac"  for  three  nights.  These  parties  put  in  from 
January  6th  to  the  I5th.  Johnny  Allen  and  Alice  Harrison 
were  a  great  attraction  in  those  days ;  how  many  remember 
them  now?  And  "Little  Mac,"  that  homely  dwarf,  what 
wonderful  stunts  he  could  do  with  those  stunted  legs  of 
his ! — a  circus  in  himself  was  Little  Mac. 

On  the  2Oth  of  January  William  J.  Cogswell  joined 
the  stock  as  leading  man,  Miss  Walters  still  retaining  posi- 
tion of  leading  lady.  A  Miss  Florence  Kent  (Mrs.  Mc- 
Cabe)  had  been  added  to  the  company,  and  being  petite  and 
good  looking,  as  well  as  talented,  Miss  Walters  saw  a  chance 
to  gratify  a  long-cherished  ambition,  which  was  to  play 
Romeo.  (She  would  show  some  of  us  men  folks  how  to 
make  love.)  So  the  piece  was  put  up  with  Miss  Walters  as 
Romeo  and  Kent  as  Juliet ;  they  made  a  pretty  couple.  Miss 
Walters  looked  very  dashing,  being  a  nice  size  for  Romeo, 
but  making  love  to  one  of  her  own  sex  was  not  such  an  easy 
task  as  she  imagined  and  although  it  was  a  very  fair  "Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  it  did  not  make  so  great  a  mark  as  many  of  her 
female  performances.  The  stock  with  the  new  leading  man, 
Cogswell,  played  along  till  February  3rd,  when  Yankee  Rob- 
inson came  in  for  a  week  in  "Sam  Patch"  and  "The  Days 
of  '76,"  February  3rd  to  the  8th  inst. 


112  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

SEASON  OF  '72-'73. CONTINUED. 

Before  this  time  John  Maguire  had  been  heard  from ;  he 
had  found  on  his  arrival  at  Pioche  that  there  was  some  sort 
of  a  theatre  there.  It  had  been  built  for  a  minstrel  com- 
pany of  whom  Harry  Larraine,  formerly  of  the  Fort  Doug- 
las band,  was  the  leader.  At  the  expiration  of  the  minstrel 
engagement,  Maguire  secured  the  theatre  when  he  imme- 
diately set  about  to  put  a  dramatic  company  in  there.  He 
telegraphed  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates,  offering  them  a  strong 
inducement  to  go  there.  He  also  telegraphed  for  the  writer, 
offering  him  a  salary  that  was  sufficient  inducement  for 
him  to  go.  John  W.  Dunne,  a  young  Californian,  who  had 
been  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  company,  was  also  engaged. 
Our  fares  were  arranged  for  and  about  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary this  nucleus  for  a  dramatic  company  left  Salt  Lake  City 
for  Pioche  for  a  six  weeks'  engagement.  Our  party  con- 
sisted of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates,  Baby  Bates  (Blanche),  the 
now  famous  actress,  who  was  then  about  a  year  and  a  half 
old ;  Mrs.  Bates'  sister,  Miss  Wren,  who  acted  as  the  chief 
nurse,  and  Mr.  John  W.  Dunne.  It  is  a  matter  well 
worthy  of  record  that  Mr.  Dunne  was  married  the  night  be- 
fore he  left  for  Pioche,  to  Miss  Clara  Decker,  a  niece  of 
Brigham  Young,  a  very  pretty  and  attractive  girl,  who  had 
been  assistant  costumer  in  the  ladies'  department  of  the 
theatre  for  some  time.  It  was  of  course,  a  great  trial  to 
the  young  couple  to  have  to  part  so  soon,  after  one  brief  night 
of  married  life,  but  the  exigencies  of  the  theatrical  business 
are  at  times  merciless.  As  they  had  been  engaged  for  some 
time,  it  was  decided  when  Mr.  Dunne  accepted  the  Pioche 
engagement,  that  it  would  be  best  for  them  to  get  married 
before  he  went  away  lest  absence  and  distance  might  cause 
one  or  both  to  change  their  minds.  How  wise  a  precaution 
this  proved  the  sequel  will  show.  This  proved  to  be  a  mem- 
orable trip.  Every  member  of  the  party  will  remember 
that  trip  to  their  dying  day  except  Blanche,  and  she  was 
too  young  to  remember  anything  about  it.  The  schedule 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  113 

time  from  Salt  Lake  to  Pioche  was  fifty-five  hours.  We 
were  five  days  and  nights,  or  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
hours  making  that  journey.  The  Utah  Southern  was  then 
running  only  as  far  as  York,  about  seventy-five  miles  south 
of  Salt  Lake.  This  left  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles 
to  be  traveled  by  stage.  Our  stage  was  not  a  Concord,  but 
a  rather  dilapidated  specimen  of  the  "jerkie"  or  "mud 
wagon."  It  had  seating  accommodations  for  nine  persons, 
and  two  could  ride  on  the  "boot"  with  the  driver.  There 
were  two  male  passengers  in  addition  to  our  party  of  six — 
six  counting  Baby  Bates,  who  must  be  figured  in  as  one,  for 
although  quite  small,  she  was  very  much  in  evidence 
throughout  that  journey.  One  of  the  gentlemen  rode  most 
of  the  time  on  the  "boot"  and  occasionally  one  or  another  of 
the  men  would  take  a  spell  on  the  driver's  seat  so  that  we 
were  never  crowded  uncomfortably ;  yet,  oh,  how  tired  we 
did  get  and  especially  the  ladies,  before  that  ride  was  ended. 
It  was  the  i8th  of  January,  the  weather  very  pleasant  but 
very  cold  nights,  and  our  first  night  on  the  stage  was  de- 
cidedly uncomfortable.  We  reached  the  terminus  of  the  rail- 
road, York,  about  noon,  ate  dinner  in  a  shack  of  a  restaurant 
and  started  on  our  stage  ride  about  two  p.  m.  We  were  not 
long  in  discovering  that  there  was  something  the  matter 
with  the  horses.  The  driver,  in  answer  to  our  queries,  in- 
formed us  that  they  were  all  suffering  from  the  epizootic; 
it  was  getting  awful  bad,  he  explained,  "don't  believe  we've 
got  a  horse  on  the  line  that  is  free  from  it."  We  agreed  with 
him  that  it  was  awful  bad.  The  poor  beasts  coughed  and 
sneezed  continuously,  throwing  off  effluvium,  the  odor  of 
which  was  disagreeable  in  the  extreme.  On  our  second  day 
out  a  regular  January  thaw  set  in  and  the  snow  melted  so 
rapidly  that  the  roads  got  very  bad ;  a  number  of  times  the 
men  had  to  get  out  and  walk,  and  on  several  occasions  the 
well  named  "mud  wagon"  got  mired  so  deeply  and  the  horses 
were  so  weak,  we  had  to  get  a  fence  pole  from  the  neighbor- 
ing fence  and  lift  the  wheels  out  of  the  holes,  the  horses 
being  unable  to  budge  the  old  coach.  The  further  south 
we  got  the  worse  the  roads  got.  We  had  to  change  the 
horses  about  every  twenty  miles,  but  they  were  all  alike, 
weak  and  dispirited,  and  the  stench  about  the  stables  at  the 
different  stations  was  nauseating.  On  the  fifth  day  out  we^ 
arrived  at  the  last  station.  Between  it  and  the  mining  camp 
there  was  a  hard  mountain  to  climb  and  the  snow  was  fall- 


114  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

ing  thick  and  fast.  It  was  then  well  on  to  sunset  and  to  our 
keen  disappointment  the  station  man  and  driver  decided 
it  would  be  folly  to  try  to  get  over  the  "divide"  in  that 
storm,  and  that  we  would  have  to  remain  at  the  station  until 
morning.  Here  was  an  unlooked  for  and  unpleasant  pre- 
dicament, but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  it  was  better  than 
getting  stuck  on  the  "divide"  in  a  heavy  snowstorm.  The 
hostler  was  a  good  natured  fellow  and  tried  in  his  homely 
way  to  reconcile  us  to  our  fate.  "I  ain't  got  so  very  much 
grub  here  and  what  there  is  ain't  very  dainty,  I  'low,  es- 
pecially for  the  ladies,  but  such  as  it  is  you're  welcome  to, 
and  you  can  have  a  good  fire,  and  if  youse  want  to  stretch 
yourselves  out  after  supper,  I  can  rake  up  quite  a  few  blank- 
ets  and  laprobes,  and  ye  can  lie  down  when  youse  tired  of 
settin'  'round  the  fire."  The  odor  of  the  stable  from  the 
epizootic  was  almost  sickening  and  the  thoughts  of  eating 
there  was  anything  but  cheering,  but  we  were  all  hungry, 
almost  famished,  having  had  nothing  since  breakfast.  So 
we  made  the  best  of  it.  The  hostler  hustled  in  great  shape, 
the  presence  of  the  ladies  and  the  baby  inspiring  him  to 
extra  exertions  in  our  behalf.  He  soon  had  a  big  pot  of 
coffee  and  a  pan  full  of  bacon  cooking,  and  he  had  to  make 
some  bread  too,  in  which  Mrs.  Bates  and  her  sister  lent  him 
their  assistance.  The  quickest  thing  he  suggested  was  slap- 
jacks, and  we  all  agreed  to  the  quickest  thing,  and  so  before 
long  we  were  all  partaking  with  what  relish  we  could  of  the 
hostler's  coffee,  slapjacks  and  bacon,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  disagreeable  odor  of  the  stable,  we  all  contrived  to  satisfy 
our  hunger.  After  the  hostler  cook  had  cleaned  away  the 
few  tin  plates  and  cups,  he  proceeded  to  strew  the  end  of 
the  little  "hostler's  room"  farthest  from  the  stove  with  a 
diversity  of  blankets  and  laprobes,  all  of  which  were  per- 
meated with  the  odor  of  the  stable,  and  suggested  in  his 
rough  but  kindly  way  "that  we  had  better  stretch  ourselves 
on  the  floor  as  it  was  a  long  time  till  morning"  and  he  knew 
"we  must  be  pooty  darn  tired  a  ridin'  so  long  in  the  coach." 
Mrs.  Bates  and  her  sister  would  have  preferred  sitting  up 
if  they  only  had  comfortable  chairs,  but  there  was  nothing 
but  a  rough  bench  and  a  couple  of  rough  stools  in  the  place 
and  the  majority  of  the  men  had  been  standing  about  or 
sitting  on  the  floor  all  through  the  supper  function  and 
sleep  gradually  overpowered  the  party,  and  one  by  one  they 
"knit  up  the  raveled  sleeve  of  care"  and  were  glad  to  bunk 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  115 

down  on  the  uninviting  bed  the  kindly  hostler  had  impro- 
vised for  the  occasion.  In  less  than  an  hour  after  our  sump- 
tuous repast,  the  entire  party  were  in  the  arms  of  Morpheus. 
The  women  and  the  baby  Blanche  were  in  the  most  seclud- 
ed corner,  then  Frank  Bates,  John  Dunne  and  myself 
stretched  out  on  the  hospitable  blankets.  These  took  all  the 
space  and  the  two  strangers  and  the  driver  wrapped  up  in 
their  overcoats  and  betook  themselves  to  the  portion  of  the 
floor  unoccupied ;  this  was  close  around  the  stove.  The  floor 
of  that  hostler's  room  was  literally  covered  with  the  sleepy 
travelers.  It  was  a  change  of  position  and  measurably  rest- 
ful, but  our  sleep  was  broken  and  anything  but  sweet,  even 
though  it  was  the  "innocent  sleep."  The  constant  coughing 
of  the  poor,  afflicted  horses  and  the  peculiar  and  disagreea- 
ble odor  of  the  epizootic,  rendered  sleep  anything  but  de- 
lightful, but  "necessity  knows  no  law,"  and  in  spite  of  all 
the  disadvantages  we  managed  to  snatch  some  repose  from 
the  "chief  nourisher  in  life's  feast."  Unenviable  as  was 
our  position  in  the  hostler's  room  on  this  memorable  night, 
it  would  have  been  much  worse  had  we  undertaken  to  cross 
the  mountain.  Snow  was  falling  thick  and  fast,  and  the 
wind  blowing  hard  enough  to  be  very  disagreeable.  After 
we  were  all  asleep,  or  apparently  so,  the  hostler  shoved  a 
stick  of  wood  in  the  stove  which  was  getting  cold,  and  then 
turned  into  the  hayloft  to  get  a  little  sleep  himself,  for  he 
had  to  be  astir  before  daylight.  Before  daybreak  the  storm 
had  spent  itself  and  the  sun  rose  bright  and  cheerful,  moun- 
tain and  vale  deeply  covered  with  snow.  Our  breakfast, 
which  the  hostler  prepared  while  the  driver  was  feeding  and 
watering  the  horses,  was  exactly  the  same  as  we  had  for 
supper:  coffee,  slapjacks  and  bacon,  with  the  addition  of 
some  tea  which  one  of  our  fellow  passengers  prepared  for 
himself  and  the  ladies.  It  was  a  sample  package  he  had 
and  cost  him,  he  solemnly  declared,  $5.00  a  pound.  This 
gave  an  extra  flavor  to  it  no  doubt,  at  all  events  the  ladies 
declared  it  was  fine  and  we  did  not  doubt  its  being  more  to 
their  taste  than  the  coffee  the  good  hostler  provided.  Break- 
fast over,  we  once  more  clambered  into  the  shaky  old  jerkie 
with  the  admonition  from  the  driver  that  we  men  would  have 
to  walk  when  we  came  to  the  steep  places.  We  thanked 
the  kindly  hostler  and  invited  him  to  come  to  the  show  when 
we  got  to  playing  in  Pioche.  The  snow  was  six  or  eight 
inches  deep  and  even  on  the  gradual  ascent,  as  we  started  up 


116  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

the  grade,  it  was  all  the  horses  could  do  to  pull  us,  and  the 
snow  soon  began  to  melt  and  the  road  to  get  steeper.  It 
was  evident  we  men  would  have  to  foot  it,  and  most  of  the 
way  to  the  top,  and  so  we  got  out  one  or  two  at  a  time  till  we 
were  all  walking  and  occasionally  we  had  to  give  a  shove  on 
the  coach  to  help  the  willing  but  weakly  horses  get  to  the 
top.  Once  there  we  were  all  very  glad  to  get  in ;  we  were 
not  long  in  rattling  along  the  down  grade  into  Pioche,  all 
very  glad  to  get  there.  Maguire,  who  had  been  impatiently 
expecting  us  for  two  days,  was  overjoyed  to  see  us,  for  he 
was  full  of  expectations  as  to  the  business  we  were  going 
to  do.  He  had  secured  us  the  best  hotel  accommodations 
the  camp  afforded,  and  they  were  duly  appreciated  after  our 
recent  experience  at  the  station. 

After  dinner  we  all  took  a  walk  with  Maguire  at  his 
invitation,  to  see  the  theatre  where  we  were  to  play  our  six 
weeks  engagement.  The  building  stood  back  from  the  prin- 
cipal street  which  was  built  right  in  the  ravine,  the  stage  en- 
trance facing  the  street,  and  the  entrance  for  the  audience 
facing  the  street  above.  We  had  ventured  various  conjec- 
tures in  reference  to  this  theatre  that  the  always  over  san- 
guine Maguire  had  secured  a  lease  of.  We  had  not  expected 
very  much  and  yet  we  were  disappointed.  We  all  entered 
at  the  stage  door  which  opened  directly  from  a  flight  of 
steps  onto  the  back  of  the  stage,  and  as  we  beheld  the  won- 
derful temple  of  Thespus,  where  we  were  to  do  honor  to  his 
art,  the  exclamations  that  escaped  us  were  not  well  calculat- 
ed to  enthuse  John  Maguire,  but  rather  to  make  him  feel  a 
little  shaky  about  the  venture  he  was  making.  Ye  gods ! 
What  a  transition  from  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  to  this  shack ! 
The  theatre  was  about  35x75  feet,  the  stage  occupying  twen- 
ty-five feet.  The  orchestra  floor  for  reserved  seats  ran  from 
the  stage  towards  the  front  about  15  feet.  The  rest  of  the 
space  was  fitted  with  rough  board  seats  a  la  circus,  the  nat- 
ural declivity  of  the  ground  giving  the  seats  the  necessary 
pitch  for  the  audience  to  see  the  stage.  The  walls  of  the 
building  were  of  rough  pine  boards  about  ten  feet  in  height 
and  the  entire  auditorium  was  roofed  in  with  ducking  or 
light  canvas.  The  stage  part  was  roofed  with  shingles  so 
as  to  preserve  the  scenery  from  the  rain.  Of  scenery  there 
was  a  very  limited  supply  and  that  not  very  artistic,  being 
painted  by  an  amateur.  The  stage  projected  beyond  the 
curtain  some  six  feet  and  on  each  side  of  this  apron  or  pro- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        117 

jecting  stage  was  a  private  box,  finished  off  with  cheap  wall 
paper  similar  to  the  interior  scenes  on  the  stage.  These 
boxes  were  well  patronized.  Every  night  they  were  filled 
with  the  fair,  frail  denizens  of  the  camp  at  the  rate  of  $io 
a  box.  The  opening  play  had  already  been  announced,  but 
owing  to  the  lateness  of  our  arrival,  was  necessarily  post- 
poned for  a  few  nights.  Maguire  had  gotten  together  some 
people  of  more  or  less  experience  (mostly  less)  to  fill  up  the 
minor  parts  in  the  caste.  He  also  took  a  hand  himself  and 
rehearsals  were  started  the  same  night  we  arrived. 

The  opening  night  came  around  and  the  Opera  House 
(that's  what  John  called  it)  was  packed  to  suffocation.  The 
boxes  were  filled  to  overflowing  with  the  swellest  looking 
women  in  the  town.  The  play  was  "Camille"  and  Mrs. 
Bates  had  them  all  shedding  tears.  The  girls  in  the  boxes 
were  deeply  affected.  Most  of  them  were  "like  Niobe,  all 
tears,"  but  we  received  no  intimation  that  this  powerful  ser- 
mon of  Dumas  was  instrumental  in  turning  them  from  their 
life  of  shame. 

Pioche  was  a  camp  of  about  eight  thousand  people  and 
was  "booming."  We  played  four  weeks  to  good  paying 
business.  This  fairly  exhausted  the  Bates  repertoire,  and 
business  began  to  fall  off  appreciably.  So  a  farewell  bene- 
fit was  worked  up  for  Mrs.  Bates  and  she  made  her  final 
appearance  at  Pioche  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  chiefly  emanating 
from  a  diamond  ring  with  which  she  was  presented  on  the 
memorable  occasion  as  a  token  of  regard  to  a  distinguished 
actress  from  a  few  of  her  Pioche  admirers.  The  Bateses  were 
fortunate.  They  had  been  playing  on  a  large  percentage  of 
the  gross  receipts  and  had  cleared  up  quite  a  nice  little  stake 
in  the  four  weeks  they  had  played  and  they  struck  out  at 
once  for  San  Francisco,  and  from  there  went  to  Australia 
where,  in  '78,  Frank  Bates  died,  after  which  Mrs.  Bates  and 
Blanche,  now  a  girl  of  eight,  returned  to  San  Francisco  in 
1880.  Maguire  still  kept  myself  and  Dunne  and  the  rest  of 
the  company,  thinking  that  with  some  new  and  lighter  plays 
we  could  still  do  a  paying  business.  The  results  were  not 
very  satisfactory.  We  played  several  weeks  in  a  sort  of 
spasmodic  way,  and  then  organized  a  little  traveling  com- 
pany in  which  a  clever  young  girl,  Maggie  Knight,  whom 
Maguire  had  discovered,  was  a  feature,  and  we  played  back 
to  the  C.  P.  R.  R.  On  one  of  these  occasions  in  Pioche,  a 
very  ludicrous  thing  happened  which  should  not  go  unre- 


118  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

corded.  We  were  playing  the  burlesque  of  "Pocahontas." 
Maguire  was  playing  Captain  John  Smith,  the  writer  Pow- 
hatan,  and  Johnny  Dunne,  as  we  were  short  of  ladies,  was 
playing  Pocahontas.  In  the  scene  where  Smith  is  brought 
in  a  prisoner  and  is  about  to  be  executed,  a  catastrophe  hap- 
pened to  John  Maguire,  so  sudden  and  appalling,  should  he 
live  to  be  as  old  as  Methusaleh,  I  doubt  if  he  would  ever 
forget  it.  Where  Smith  says,  after  viewing  the  stone  on 
which  he  is  to  be  decapitated, 

"It's  a  hard  pill,  but  a  harder  piller, 

Life's  a  conundrum,'1  and  Powhatan  replies : 

"Then  lie  down  and  give  it  up." 

Just  at  this  point  a  sudden  scream  emanated  from  one  of  the 
boxes,  which  were  well  filled  on  this  occasion  with  the  demi 
monde,  then  several  screams  of  laughter,  then  the  whole 
audience  began  to  roar  with  laughter.  I  knew  something 
had  gone  wrong  for  there  was  nothing  in  the  text  to  extort 
such  screams  and  peals  of  laughter.  I  glanced  over  the 
group  on  the  stage,  and  to  my  amazement  I  saw  Mac's 
trunks  had  dropped  down  to  his  feet,  and  he,  all  unconscious 
of  the  fact,  was  standing  there  in  a  pair  of  thin  cotton  tights. 
His  knee  pants  or  trunks,  were  of  very  light  material  and  the 
drawstring  with  which  they  were  fastened  around  his  waist, 
had  given  way  and  they  dropped  to  the  floor,  and  so  excited 
was  he  in  his  character  he  did  not  notice  it.  I  said  to  him 
in  sotto  voce,  "Your  pants  are  down."  Then  he  cast  his  eyes 
down,  and  the  look  of  abject  despair  that  came  over  his 
face  as  he  said  in  a  subdued  tone,  "Oh,  my  God!"  and 
stopped  and  pulled  the  gauzy  things  up  to  their  place  and 
walked  off  the  stage  to  readjust  them,  we  can  never  forget. 
The  girls  at  this  resumed  their  screams  of  laughter  and  the 
audience  roared  until  they  were  tired.  When  the  noise  sub- 
sided, Maguire,  with  his  costume  adjusted,  came  back  to 
finish  the  scene,  but  it  was  several  minutes  before  we  could 
proceed,  so  much  did  the  audience  enjoy  this  simple  acci- 
dent. Maguire  remained  in  Pioche  some  time  after  I  left 
there,  and  finally  left  the  place  worse  off  by  far  than  when 
he  went  there,  and  I  did  not  see  the  genial  John  again  till  I 
went  to  Portland  in  '78  to  play  in  the  New  Market  theatre  of 
which  he  was  the  manager.  Just  before  the  departure  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bates,  John  Dunne  and  myself  for  Pioche,  the 
Cogswell-Carter  company  arrived  in  Salt  Lake,  having  trav- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  l]9 

elect  by  stage  and  team  from  California,  playing  the  towns 
en  route. 

This  company  consisted  of  J.  W.  Carter,  Carrie  Carter, 
W.  J.  Cogswell  (Carrie's  brother),  Ed.  Harden,  Lincoln 
J.  Carter  (then  a  very  small  boy),  and  probably  one  or  two 
others,  minor  people  who  did  not  come  into  publicity  here. 
On  arriving  here  the  party  waited  upon  President  Brigham 
Young  to  pay  their  respects,  and  to  inform  him  that  they  had 
been  commanded  by  the  spirit  world,  with  which  they  had 
been  having  communications  (by  the  "Planchette"  route), 
to  go  to  Salt  Lake  and  join  the  Mormon  church  as  that  was 
the  true  church  and  the  only  one  that  could  save  them.  This 
told  in  all  apparent  sincerity,  with  the  request  to  be  baptized, 
was  altogether  a  pleasing  surprise  to  Brigham  and  his  coun- 
sellors, and  the  Cogswell-Carter  company  were  warmly  wel- 
comed. They  were  baptized  and  confirmed  into  the  church 
without  delay,  and  within  a  few  days  they  were  all  engaged 
at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  Their  coming  was  very  timely  for 
the  theatre  managers,  for  they  had  lost  several  of  their  lead- 
ing people.  "Jim"  Hardie  had  gone  for  good,  McKenzie, 
who  had  been  playing  steadily  since  the  opening  of  the  tne- 
atre  in  '62  and  was  wearied  with  study,  had  been  released 
and  sent  on  a  mission  in  the  belief  the  change  would,  benefit 
him ;  John  Lindsay  was  off  on  a  "fool's  errand"  playing  for 
John  Maguire  in  Pioche,  and  the  Cogswell-Carter-Marden 
accession  filled  the  gap  very  nicely,  and  the  season  progressed 
to  its  close  without  much  friction. 

During  the  absence  of  Mr.  Dunne  and  myself  from  Salt 
Lake  the  following  attractions  appeared  at  the  theatre.  Jean 
Clara  Walters,  W.  J.  Cogswell  and  the  stock  company  from 
February  8th  to  March  loth,  on  which  date  a  new  play  by 
Edward  L.  Sloan  (then  editor  of  the  Salt  Lake  Herald)  was 
produced.  It  was  entitled  "Stage  and  Steam."  It  was  in- 
tended to  show  the  advance  of  civilization.  It  had  a  railroad 
scene  and  a  stage  coach  in  it  and  a  sensational  saw  mill 
scene,  where  a  man  was  placed  on  the  log  carriage  to  be 
sliced  into  boards,  but  was  rescued  just  in  the  nick  of  time. 
Jos.  Arthur's  saw  mill  scene  in  "Blue  Jeans"  is  exactly  the 
same  thing,  although  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  Mr.  Arthur 
ever  saw  Sloan's  play.  The  play  only  had  two  performances. 
March  loth  to  I5th,  Frank  Hussey  and  Blanche  Clifton 
held  the  boards  in  "Hazard"  and  some  other  plays.  Marion 
Mordaunt  was  the  next  stellar  attraction  and  gave  "The 


120  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Colleen  Bawn"  and  ''Hearts  are  Trumps"  the  I7th  to  iQth. 
On  the  24th  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  appeared.  It  was 
Augusta  Dargon.  She  opened  in  "Camille"  and  played  also 
"Deborah  (Leah),"  "Lady  Macbeth,"  "Meg  Merrilles"  and 
"Lucretia  Borgia."  Miss  Dargon  was  one  of  the  greatest 
actresses  our  country  ever  produced,  but  she  was  not  finan- 
cially successful.  She  is  the  only  American  actress  who  has 
ever  played  Tennyson's  "Queen  Mary."  Mrs.  John  Drew 
made  a  costly  production  of  this  play  at  the  Arch  Street 
Theatre,  Philadelphia,  with  Augusta  Dargon  as  the  star 
during  the  Centennial.  But  it  was  not  a  financial  success. 
The  writer  did  not  meet  Miss  Dargon  till  1878,  when  she 
came  to  the  New  Market  theatre  in  Portland  and  played  a 
two  weeks'  engagement  under  the  management  of  our  old 
friend  John  Maguire.  Here  I  had  the  pleasure  (and  hard 
work)  of  playing  the  opposite  roles  to  her  in  her  extensive 
repertory,  changing  the  bill  nearly  every  night  during  her 
engagement.  Toward  the  close  of  it  she  put  up  Tennyson's 
"Queen  Mary"  in  which  I  had  to  play  King  Phillip  of  Spain 
on  two  days'  study,  a  very  long,  arduous  part,  that  put  me 
on  my  mettle  to  master  it ;  also  studied  and  played  "Cardinal 
Wolsey"  for  the  first  time  during  this  engagement.  Miss 
Dargon,  who  was  under  the  management  of  Henry  Green- 
wald,  after  her  Portland  engagement,  made  a  tour  of  the 
"sound"  playing  Tacoma,  Seattle,  Port  Townsend  and  Vic- 
toria, supported  by  the  New  Market  Theatre  company,  and 
returning,  played  a  few  more  nights  in  Portland,  then  took 
steamer  for  Australia.  Under  Mr.  Greenwald's  manage- 
ment she  had  played  successful  engagements  both  in  San 
Francisco  and  Portland,  and  when  she  opened  in  Melbourne 
she  just  captivated  the  city,  playing  extraordinary  engage- 
ments both  there  and  in  Sidney.  The  press  of  Australia 
printed  volumes  in  her  praise.  She  made  a  great  triumph, 
and  in  the  very  flush  of  her  victory,  some  wealthy  Australian 
captured  her.  She  got  married  and  retired  from  the  stage, 
and  Greenwald  was  forced  to  return  without  her.  She  never 
came  back  to  us.  Her  return  engagement  here  was  played 
before  she  went  to  Australia. 

Mr.  "Bill"  Cogswell  seemed  to  have  dropped  out  of  the 
company  before  Miss  Dargon's  engagement  and  conse- 
quently David  McKenzie  was  her  principal  support.  After 
the  Dargon  engagement,  which  closed  March  29th,  Jean 
Clara  Walters,  Florence  Kent  and  the  stock  company  played 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        121 

through  the  April  conference  without  a  star  attraction,  and 
filled  up  time  to  April  28th  when  for  some  reason  the  season 
closed  but  was  reopened  on  May  3rd  with  the  stock  company 
who  played  up  to  the  6th.  On  the  8th  of  May,  Augusta 
Dargon  began  a  return  engagement  which  lasted  till  the 
1 5th.  She  opened  in  the  new  play  "Unmasked,"  and  re- 
peated "Deborah,"  "Camille,"  and  "Lady  Macbeth,"  and 
closed  in  a  new  piece  "The  Rising  of  the  Moon."  It  speaks 
highly  of  Miss  Dargon's  popularity  in  Salt  Lake  that  she 
should  play  a  return  engagement  in  five  weeks  after  her  first 
one. 

Blind  Tom,  the  musical  prodigy,  was  the  next  attraction. 
He  played  but  one  night,  May  I7th.  On  the  iQth  Annette 
Ince  began  a  return  engagement  of  six  nights  and  a  matinee 
and  the  record  shows  a  change  of  play  for  each  performance. 
She  gave  "Elizabeth,"  "Mary  Stuart,"  "Medea,"  "The 
Hunchback,"  "The  Stranger,"  "The  Honeymoon,"  and  the 
"Lady  of  Lyons."  This  repertory  in  one  week  undoubtedly 
kept  the  company  right  busy.  Miss  Ince  was  a  sterling  ac- 
tress, and  always  gave  satisfaction,  but  she  did  not  possess 
the  faculty  of  making  your  blood  thrill  in  your  veins  and 
your  hair  rise  occasionally  that  Miss  Dargon  had.  It  is  just 
a  little  singular  how  she  came  so  close  on  Miss  Dargon's 
heels  this  time.  It  seems  like  poor  management  to  play  two 
lady  stars,  so  nearly  alike  in  repertoire,  so  close  together,  but 
these  accidents  would  happen  once  in  a  while.  Frank  Hus- 
sey  and  Blanche  Clifton  came  back  for  two  nights,  May  26th 
and  27th.  Then  the  stock  had  to  take  up  the  burden  again 
and  carry  it  from  May  28th  to  June  2ist.  By  June  1st  John 
Dunne  and  the  writer  had  returned  from  the  Pioche  trip  and 
were  back  in  their  old  positions  in  the  company.  Dunne  had 
a  surprise  party  in  store  for  him  on  his  return.  Instead  of 
being  received  with  open  arms  and  loving  embraces  by  his 
bride  of  a  night,  she  coldly  repulsed  him  and  refused  ever  to 
live  with  him,  and  she  kept  her  word.  This  was  owing  to 
things  she  had  heard  about  John  and  his  freedom  with  other 
females  while  he  was  at  Pioche.  This  did  not  discourage 
Dunne,  however,  from  trying  again.  He  has  had  several 
wives  since,  the  best  known  being  Patti  Rosa,  a  talented 
actress  whom  he  managed  and  married.  Clara,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  not  inconsolable,  and  her  enchantment  with  the 
stage  and  stage  actors  having  been  rather  rudely  dispelled, 
she  sought  "surcease  from  sorrow"  in  the  affections  of  a 


122  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

well  to  do  farmer,  who  has  proven  more  constant,  and  with 
whom  she  has  raised  a  representative  Mormon  family. 

Madam  Anna  Bishop  put  in  a  week  of  high  class  concert 
from  June  the  25th  to  3Oth.  On  July  2nd  John  W.  Dunne 
took  a  benefit,  on  which  occasion  we  repeated  one  of  our 
Pioche  performances  with  an  important  change  of  cast. 
"Theresa,  or  the  Cross  of  Gold"  and  "Pocahontas"  was  the 
bill.  Dunne  did  not  find  the  atmosphere  of  Salt  Lake  so 
congenial  to  him  as  it  had  been  and  did  not  remain  for  the 
next  season.  I  next  met  him  in  Cheyenne  in  '78.  He  was 
married  and  apparently  contented,  working  at  his  trade  of 
printer. 

The  business,  after  Dunne's  benefit,  seems  to  have  been 
spasmodic.  The  stock  kept  on  playing,  however,  during  the 
month  of  July.  That  it  did  business  at  all  was  remarkable, 
but  there  being  no  "resorts"  and  the  theatre  the  coolest  place 
in  town,  in  some  measure  accounts  for  its  keeping  open  dur- 
ing the  torrid  heat  of  the  summer. 

Weiniawska,  the  Polish  violinist,  gave  a  concert  on  the 
1 2th.  George  Waldron  and  his  wife  drifted  in  and  played 
a  few  nights  up  to  the  I7th.  Then  W.  O.  Crosbie  and  his 
wife,  Arrah  Crosbie,  and  James  A.  Vinson,  drifted  in  from 
the  northwest  and  were  given  a  few  nights.  "Jim"  Vinson 
was  featured  in  the  play  of  "Quits"  and  "Billie"  Crosbie  in 
some  favorite  farce,  supported  by  Arrah  and  the  stock  com- 
pany. Both  Vinson  and  Crosbie  made  a  very  favorable  im- 
pression which  resulted  in  them  being  engaged  by  the  man- 
agement for  the  following  season.  It  looked  as  if  all  the 
other  theatres  in  the  West  had  closed  and  the  actors  had 
come  trouping  to  Salt  Lake  to  get  summer  engagements. 
Now  comes  Carrie  Cogswell-Carter  and  the  available  stock 
to  the  front.  They  opened  on  the  26th  ancl  played  till  the 
3Oth,  and  the  season  closed. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  123 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

SEASON  OF  73-74. 

The  season  of  73  and  '74  was  somewhat  later  than 
usual  in  opening.  The  reasons  were,  Clawson  and  Caine 
had  renewed  their  lease  of  the  theatre,  and  having  done  so 
well  with  it  financially,  they  were  not  content  to>  "let  well 
enough  alone,"  but  felt  that  they  should  make  certain  imag- 
inary improvements  that  different  wise-acres  had  suggest- 
ed, and  embellishments  commensurate  with  the  liberal  pat- 
ronage they  had  received  during  their  previous  lease  of  the 
house.  Accordingly  some  radical  changes  were  made  which 
cost  a  plenty  of  money  and  made  the  managers  scratch  their 
heads  many  a  time  before  they  were  all  paid  for.  As  an 
example  of  how  much  costly  mischief  one  interfering  "know- 
it-all"  can  accomplish,  the  managers  were  persuaded  by  their 
prospective  new  stage  manager,  "Jim"  Vinson,  that  the  stage 
of  the  theatre  did  not  have  sufficient  pitch  or  slope  from  back 
to  front.  It  had  a  slight  pitch  ene-eighth  of  an  inch  to  the 
foot,  or  about  eight  inches  in  its  entire  depth,  which  was 
just  perceptible,  but  not  sufficient  to  be  particularly  notice- 
able or  to  render  it  uncomfortable  to  walk  on  or  to  dance 
on.  But  the  wisdom  of  the  new  stage  manager  was  para- 
mount, and  that  immense  stage  whose  huge  supports  were 
built  into  the  solid  stone  walls,  had  to  be  cut  loose  from  its 
bearings  and  the  front  of  it  lowered  until  it  had  three-eighths 
of  an  inch  fall  to  the  foot,  a  slope  that  made  it  uncomfortable 
to  walk  on,  indeed,  entering  in  a  hurry,  one  was  quite  in- 
clined to  slide  on.  It  made  it  awkward  too  for  stage  set- 
tings. Every  piece  of  scenery  that  was  set  up  and  down  the 
stage  or  at  any  angle  save  that  paralleling  the  front  curtain, 
was  thrown  out  of  the  perpendicular  that  is  so  essential  to 
make  the  scenery  look  well.  At  the  very  time  that  this  al- 
leged improvement  was  being  made,  the  pitching  or  sloping 
stage  (once  thought  to  add  perspective  to  the  scenery)  was 
obsolete  and  all  the  new  theatres  in  the  country  were  being 
built  with  level  stages.  It  cost  hundreds  of  dollars  to  make 
this  change  and  instead  of  being  an  improvement  it  was  a 


124  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

positive  detriment,  is  still,  and  always  will  be.  So  much  for 
the  advice  of  a  stage  manager.  The  proscenium  doors  that 
had  been  used  for  coming  in  front  of  the  curtain,  were  done 
away  with  and  the  present  boxes  put  in  their  stead,  a  very 
sensible  and  profitable  improvement.  Something  like  $8,000 
was  expended  in  these  and  other  improvements — a  costly 
experiment  the  sequel  proved.  The  managers,  Clawson  and 
Caine,  had  in  contemplation  a  very  profitable  season  and  en- 
gaged an  unusually  large  and  expensive  company.  The  old 
stock  members  had  been  now  so  many  seasons  constantly 
before  the  public  that  it  was  thought  their  drawing  powers 
were  waning,  and  it  was  considered  necessary  to  get  some 
new  blood  into  the  stock.  Accordingly,  while  nearly  all  the 
old  stock  was  retained,  a  number  of  new  people  were  added 
to  the  company,  vastly  increasing  the  salary  list.  First  in 
prominence  was  Kate  Denin  (Mrs.  John  Wilson)  who  was 
featured  as  a  stock  star.  Mr.  W.  J.  Cogswell,  who  had  been 
playing  leads  during  the  latter  part  of  the  previous  season, 
was  retained  as  leading  man.  "Jim"  Vinson,  who  had  put 
into  Salt  Lake  before  the  close  of  the  last  season,  was  re- 
tained as  stage  manager  and  to  play  "old  men."  "Billie" 
Crosbie  was  engaged  for  the  principal  comedy  roles,  thus 
displacing  the  local  favorites,  Margetts,  Graham,  and  Dun- 
bar  from  the  choice  comedy  parts.  Arrah  Crosbie,  Billie's 
wife,  had  to  have  a  place  and  she  made  a  good  utility 
woman ;  or  she  could  play  Irish  characters.  From  the  mere 
force  of  assimilation  "Billie"  was  a  good  Irish  comedian. 
Mr.  "Al"  Thorne,  who  was  added  to  the  company  in  the 
previous  November,  was  retained  especially  for  the  "heav- 
ies." "Buck"  Zabriske  was  engaged  as  prompter  at  a  good 
fat  salary,  because  the  prompter  was  a  very  essential  feature 
in  the  makeup  of  a  stock  company  and  generally  earned  his 
salary,  for  he  often  had  a  hard  part  to  play  behind  the 
scenes  on  a  first  night.  Then  there  was  dear  old  Frank 
Rea,  with  his  face  and  head  of  antique  beauty ;  always  full 
of  Forrestonian  reminiscences,  and  his  wife  of  blessed  mem- 
ory, who  had  grown  old  in  the  service,  along  with  her  hus- 
band. Then  there  was  Carrie  Cogswell-Carter,  and  Ed 
Marden  was  there.  J.  W.  Carter  had  parted  company  with 
theatrical  business  and  accepted  an  engagement  to  preach 
the  gospel  for  a  while.  He  succeeded  in  making  one  convert 
that  we  know  of  whom  he  brought  to  Utah  later  and  made 
Mrs.  Carter  No.  2.  This  was  a  bitter  pill  for  Carrie  Carter 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        125 

and  she  revenged  herself  in  time  by  becoming  the  fourth 
wife  of  Bishop  Herrick  of  Ogden.  Apropos  of  this  latter 
event,  about  a  year  later,  December,  1875,  Miss  Carrie  Cogs- 
well was  playing  Julia  in  the  "Hunchback"  to  the  writer's 
"Master  Walter"  at  Ogden.  There  was  a  Gentile  paper  there 
at  the  time  called  the  Ogden  Freeman.  It  was  published 
by  a  man  named  Freeman,  who  came  to  Ogden  with  the  ad- 
vent of  the  Union  Pacific  railroad.  Freeman  had  published 
his  paper  at  each  successive  terminus  of  the  road  until  it 
reached  Ogden,  and  then  he  settled  down  there  and  ran  the 
"Ogden  Freeman"  as  a  rabid  anti-Mormon  paper.  We  had 
journeyed  northward  and  were  in  the  town  of  Franklin. 
Phil  Margetts,  "Jimmy"  Thompson  and  myself  were  seated 
in  the  hotel  parlor  when  Carrie  came  in  with  a  paper  in  her 
hand,  and  in  her  lively,  good-natured  way,  said  "Boys,  I 
met  Freeman  of  Ogden,  in  the  Co-op,  store  just  now,  and  he 
gave  me  a  copy  of  his  paper.  He  says  it  has  a  long  notice 
of  the  'Hunchback'  in  it.  Let  us  see  what  he  says."  With 
that  she  threw  herself  into  a  chair,  turned  over  the  paper 
and  found  the  notice.  It  was  generally  favorable  but  criti- 
cised her  Julia  rather  adversely,  at  which  she  said  rather  pet- 
ulantly, "Well,  I  know  I'm  not  an  Adelaide  Neilson,  but  I 
guess  it  was  good  enough  for  Ogden."  On  further  examina- 
tion of  the  paper  she  came  across  a  "personal"  which  read  as 
follows :  "We  understand  that  Miss  Carrie  Cogswell,  now 
playing  here  with  the  Salt  Lake  company,  is  the  fourth  po- 
lygamous wife  of  Bishop  Herrick,  having  herself  had  three 
husbands :  first,  Thomas  A.  Lyne,  the  tragedian ;  second,  J. 
A.  Carter,  and  third,  Bishop  Herrick."  She  read  this  notice 
to  us  and  as  she  did  so  she  grew  very  angry.  She  strode  out 
of  the  hotel  like  an  enraged  tigress.  We  all  wondered  what 
she  was  going  to  do,  but  in  about  five  minutes  she  strode 
back  in  again  with  a  handful  of  poor  Freeman's  whiskers  in 
her  clenched  fist  and  her  parasol  broken  to  smithereens  over 
the  offender's  face  and  head.  In  explanation  she  said,  "I 
don't  care  how  much  he  criticises  my  acting  but  he  mustn't 
meddle  in  my  family  affairs."  Freeman  took  revenge  for 
this  upon  the  writer  several  years  later  in  Montana,  by  giv- 
ing him  a  red  hot  roast  while  playing  in  a  neighboring  town. 
He  evidently  thought  that  I  had  prompted  her  to  the  casti- 
gation  act,  which  was  not  true,  and  totally  unnecessary. 

The  season  was  ushered  in  very  auspiciously  with  the 
"School  for  Scandal,"  with  Miss  Denin  as  Lady  Teazle  and 


126  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Vinson  as  Sir  Peter ;  Mr.  Cogswell  playing  Charles 
Surface  and  Mr.  Crosbie,  Benjamin  Backbite,  and  the  full 
force  of  the  stock  company  in  the  cast. 

Stock  played  through  conference  dates  as  usual  and  up 
to  the  nth  when  Laura  Alberta  and  George  W.  Harrison 
hoisted  the  stellar  flag,  which  they  floated  for  two  weeks, 
opening  in  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  which  ran  for  three  nights, 
and  then  gave  place  to  other  pieces  in  Laura's  repertory. 
Then  followed  Fanny  Cathcart  and  George  Darrell  for  a 
week,  presenting  "Man  and  Wife,"  "Woman  in  Red," 
"Masks  and  Faces,"  "Black  Eyed  Susan,"  "Stranger," 
"Happy  Pair,"  "Mysteries  of  Stage,"  and  "Mexican  Ti- 
gress." Eight  different  plays  in  one  week  must  have  kept 
the  stock  company  out  of  mischief,  one  would  naturally 
think.  The  reverse  proved  true,  however,  in  this  case,  for 
the  leading  man,  "Bill"  Cogswell,  from  over-study  (we  had 
no  understudies  in  those  days),  was  driven  to  drink;  Bill 
got  on  a  jamboree  and  didn't  care  whether  school  kept  or 
not,  and  the  managers  were  in  a  dilemma.  Their  next  star 
was  May  Howard,  who  opened  on  November  3rd  for  a 
three  weeks  engagement  of  legitimate.  It  was  essential  to 
have  a  good,  reliable  leading  man  to  help  May  through  sucn 
a  long  engagement.  Both  McKenzie  and  Lindsay  were 
away  and  a  new  leading  man  was  considered  an  all  important 
factor  in  this  emergency.  So  a  Chicago  dramatic  agent,  Ar- 
thur Cambridge,  was  wired  to  and  he  sent  out  the  "brilliant 
young  American  actor,  J.  Al.  Sawtelle."  Sawtelle  opened 
on  Miss  Howard's  second  night,  playing  "Armand  Duval'' 
in  "Camille."  It  was  a  part  well  suited  to  him  and  he  made 
a  satisf acton7  impression.  Miss  Howard  played  "The  New 
Magdalen"  (opening  night),  "Guy  Mannering,"  "Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  and  "East  Lynne."  Harry  Eytinge  rendered 
support  in  most  of  her  plays — he  being  the  lady's  husband 
this  was  a  very  fitting  and  graceful  thing  to  do.  After  three 
weeks  of  Howard  and  Eytinge,  Fanny  Cathcart  and  George 
Darrell  came  back  as  "Man  and  Wife,"  doing  "Dark  Deeds" 
and  filling  in  four  nights  with  a  "Woman  in  Red,"  and  do- 
ing funny  things  in  "Masks  and  Faces." 

On  November  28th  and  29th,  an  original  historical 
play  by  Edward  W.  Tullidge,  entitled  "Oliver  Crom- 
well," had  its  initial  performance.  Sawtelle  was  cast 
for  the  title  role.  "Jim"  Vinson,  the  venerable 
stage  manager,  was  greatly  impressed  with  the 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        127 

merits  of  Cromwell  and  cast  and  staged  it  to  the 
best  of  his  ability,  with  the  resources  available,  but  it  was  far 
from  being  an  ideal  cast.  Sawtelle,  tall  and  slender,  looked 
as  little  like  Cromwell  as  he  did  Napoleon,  and  he  was  as  far 
from  the  character  in  temperament  as  he  was  in  stature.  The 
play  with  so  many  historical  characters,  Cromwell,  Charles 
I.,  Ireton,  Milton,  Vane,  Bradshaw,  Harrison,  et  al.,  was  very 
exacting  in  its  mental  requirements,  and  was  easily  greater 
than  the  company,  yet  notwithstanding  this  drawback  and 
the  fact  that  nothing  was  done  for  the  play  in  the  way  of 
special  scenery  or  costuming,  it  met  with  very  fair  success. 
A  strong  local  interest  was  exhibited  and  the  house  was 
well  filled  to  witness  the  first  performance  of  a  great  play  by 
a  local  author.  Mr.  Vinson  said  it  was  the  greatest  play 
that  had  been  written  since  Bulwer's  "Richelieu"  and  told 
John  McCullough  on  his  next  visit,  that  if  he  would  take 
Tullidge's  "Oliver  Cromwell"  and  play  it  there  was  a  fortune 
in  it  for  him.  McCullough  would  have  made  an  ideal  Crom- 
well, and  Vinson  recognized  the  fact  that  he  was  the  man 
to  make  a  success  of  it,  but  McCullough,  like  Davenport,  who 
read  the  play  and  made  a  contract  with  Tullidge  to  produce 
it,  had  already  passed  the  meridian  of  his  fame  and  had  not 
ambition  sufficient  left  to  engage  in  a  new  and  venture- 
some undertaking ;  so  Cromwell  dropped  back  into  oblivion. 
It  was  revived  a  dozen  years  later  with  the  writer  in  the 
title  role.  The  play  this  time  was  costumed  correctly  and 
the  cast,  although  still  weak  in  places,  was  somewhat  better 
than  the  original.  It  was  played  again  in  the  Salt  Lake  the- 
atre, at  Ogden,  Logan  and  Provo,  and  met  with  a  hearty 
endorsement  by  the  press  of  those  towns,  but  it  needed  more 
money  to  tide  it  to  a  financial  success  than  the  promoters  had 
to  invest,  and  so  Oliver  Cromwell  has  rested  in  honorable 
repose,  waiting  for  some  enterprising  manager  to  unveil  him 
on  the  stage  as  Lord  Roseberry  unveiled  his  statue  facing 
Westminster  hall  only  a  short  time  ago;  a  late  but  fitting 
tribute  to  the  genius  of  the  uncrowned  king. 

Following  Oliver  Cromwell,  Shiel  Barry,  a  clever 
actor  of  Irish  character,  filled  the  week,  December 
ist  to  6th.  On  the  8th  and  gth  Oliver  Crom- 
well was  repeated,  this  making  four  performances 
in  all,  which  spoke  well  for  the  popularity  of  Tul- 
lidge's play.  On  December  i6th,  Kate  Denin  took  a  farewell 
benefit  and  made  her  last  appearance  for  this  season.  Mrs. 


128  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Frank  Rea  took  a  benefit  on  the  I9th  and  on  the  22nd  Jean 
Clara  Walters  reappeared  after  an  absence  of  about  three 
months  in  the  "French  Spy."  Miss  Walters  had  not  ap- 
peared this  season  until  now,  on  Kate  Benin's  retirement. 
They  were  both  stock  stars  and  two  lady  stock  stars  keep 
not  their  course  in  the  same  orbit.  Benin  had  been  shining 
refulgently  since  the  opening  of  the  season,  and  Walters,  al- 
though in  the  city,  had  not  appeared,  but  now  she  burst 
again  into  public  view  resplendent  in  green  tights  and  span- 
gles. On  the  25th  Eliza  Newton,  as  the  bright  particular 
star,  appeared  in  the  "Nymph  of  the  Luleyburg,"  a  beauti- 
ful spectacular  piece  well  suited  for  the  holidays.  Close 
following  the  holiday  production  with  its  nymphs  and  fairies 
our  old  friend  "Jim"  Herne  opened  a  three  weeks'  engage- 
ment on  January  5th,  1874,  in  the  now  familiar  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  following  it  up  with  a  variegated  repertoire,  in- 
cluding "Bombey  and  Son,"  "Rosina  Meadows,"  "Wept  ot 
the  Wishton  Wish,"  "People's  Lawyer"  or  "Solon  Shingle," 
etc.  Herne,  during  his  previous  engagement,  established 
himself  as  a  great  favorite  with  Salt  Lake  audiences,  and 
now  he  added  new  laurels  to  his  wealth  of  fame.  Herne 
was  a  great  actor.  He  excelled  in  eccentric  comedy  all  the 
actors  I  have  known.  On  January  26th,  John  McCullough 
began  a  three  weeks'  engagement  in  "Jack  Cade."  Annie 
Graham,  herself  an  attractive  legitimate  star,  was  especially 
engaged  to  play  the  opposite  roles  to  McCullough.  This 
made  a  remarkably  strong  company  and  Mr.  John  McCul- 
lough had  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his  support  and 
proud  of  the  engagement  he  played.  In  addition  to  "Jack 
Cade,"  a  long  list  of  legitimate  plays  were  presented,  in- 
cluding "The  Gladiator,"  "Bamon  and  Pythias,"  "Virgin- 
ius,"  "Hamlet,"  "Macbeth,"  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  "Merchant 
of  Venice,"  and  "Othello."  He  exhausted  his  legitimate 
repertoire  and  drew  on  his  comedy  resources,  playing  "Br. 
Savage"  in  "Playing  with  Fire"  and  "A  party  by  the  name 
of  Johnson"  in  "The  Lancastershire  Lass."  This  was  a 
notable  engagement  and  was  followed  by  another  great  celeb- 
rity, Bion  Boucicault,  the  author  of  so  many  successful 
plays.  Boucicault  appeared  as  "Miles  Na  Copaleen"  in  his 
own  popular  play,  "The  Colleen  Bawn ;"  also  as  "Shaun 
the  Post"  in  "Arrah  Na  Pogue,"  and  on  his  third  and  last 
night  in  "Kerry."  His  dates  were  February  i6th,  I7th  and 
1 8th.  On  the  I9th  Maggie  Moore  and  Johnny  William- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  129 

son  of  California  theatre  fame,  opened  a  nine  nights'  en- 
gagement. We  have  no  record  of  what  pieces  they  played 
except  one.  They  had  a  new  play  to  exploit.  They  had 
feared  to  make  the  venture  with  it  at  the  California  theatre 
in  San  Francisco  where  they  had  been  favorites,  so  they 
brought  it  to  Salt  Lake  to  "try  it  on  the  dog."  This  is  a 
phrase  thoroughly  understood  among  theatrical  people  al- 
though it  may  savor  of  ambiguity  to  the  uninitiated.  It  means 
simply  that  when  a  manager  is  at  all  dubious  about  the  merits 
of  a  new  production,  he  sends  it  into  some  comparatively 
obscure  town  to  try  its  qualifications  for  pleasing  in  the 
metropolis.  The  origin  of  the  phrase  is  obscure,  but  prob- 
ably sprang  from  the  similarity  of  trying  a  collar  on  a  dog. 
Inferentially  the  play  is  a  collar  and  the  obscure  town  the 
dog.  In  this  particular  case  "Struck  Oil"  was  the  collar 
and  Salt  Lake  the  dog.  The  collar  happened  to  fit ;  the  play 
was  a  howling  success  (no  suggestion  of  dog  intended 
here)  and  it  ran  three  consecutive  nights  in  the  Salt  Lake 
Theatre,  and  then  with  the  Salt  Lake  stamp  of  approval  on 
it  the  Williamsons,  Johnny  and  Maggie,  took  it  out  into  the 
theatrical  world  and  made  a  fortune  with  it.  Joe  Murphy 
had  the  collar  on  us  before  with  his  "Help"  and  was  suc- 
cessful, and  that  encouraged  the  Williamsons  and  others 
that  have  since  come,  until  Salt  Lake  has  won  a  reputation 
among  dramatic  people  for  being  an  easy  and  gentle  canine 
on  which  to  try  the  collar. 

Now  comes  the  prince  of  comedians,  John  T.  Raymond, 
back  again  and  stays  a  short  week,  during  which  he  sprung 
on  the  actors  and  the  confiding  and  admiring  community  the 
following  plays :  "Our  American  Cousin,"  "Everybody's 
Friend,"  "Toodles,"  "Serious  Family,"  and  "Only  a  Jew." 
In  "Our  American  Cousin,"  Raymond  starred  as  Asa  Trench- 
ard,  the  "American  Cousin,"  and  not  in  Lord  Dundreary, 
the  part  Sothern  won  both  fame  and  fortune  in.  In  this  in- 
stance my  old  schoolmate  and  present  colleague,  John  C. 
Graham,  was  intrusted  with  the  character  of  "Dundreary" 
and  did  himself  and  the  company  credit  by  his  humorous 
and  artistic  rendering  of  it.  Raymond  was  so  thoroughly 
American  (a  Yankee  in  fact)  that  Dundreary  was  not  in  his 
way,  while  Asa  Trenchard  fitted  like  "ze  paper  on  ze  vail." 
Raymond  as  Major  Wellington  De  Boots  was  immense,  but 
it  scarcely  gave  him  the  scope  he  was  looking  for  so  he  was 
playing  a  half  dozen  different  plays,  none  of  which  were 

9 


130  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

making  him  any  great  fame  or  money.  When  "The  Gilded 
Age"  was  ushered  in  by  Mark  Twain,  people  who  knew  John 
T.  Raymond,  on  reading  Col.  Seller's  peculiarities,  were 
quick  to  recognize  in  Raymond-  the  living  counterpart  of 
Mark  Twain's  imaginary  hero.  It  was  not  long  before  Ray- 
mond was  the  only  authorized  stage  edition  of  Col.  Sellers 
and  his  popularity  increased  rapidly  until  it  seemed  "there 
was  a  million  in  it"  for  the  genial  comedian,  but  before  he 
had  time  to  amass  a  million  or  two  "Atropos  came  with  her 
shears  and  clipped  his  thread."  "Alas,  poor  Yorick !  I 
knew  him,  Horatio.  A  fellow  of  infinite  jest,  of  most  ex- 
cellent fancy."  Miss  M.  E.  Gordon  followed,  playing  from 
the  9th  to  the  I4th,  opening  in  "Divorce."  Miss  Gordon 
was  closely  allied  to  Raymond.  Whether  they  divided  even- 
ly the  profits  of  the  two  engagements  we  cannot  tell,  but 
we  know  that  in  many  other  places  they  played  in  conjunc- 
tion. 

Katherine  Rogers  opened  a  two  weeks'  engagement  on 
March  i6th,  playing  "Galatea,"  "Leah,"  "Hunchback,"  "Un- 
equal Match,"  "Lady  of  Lyons,"  "As  You  Like  It,"  "Masks 
and  Faces,"  and  "Love's  Sacrifice." 

A  series  of  "benefits"  followed  this  engagement,  begin- 
ning with  W.  H.  Crosbie,  April  3rd.  On  the  6th,  Belle 
Douglass  reappeared  in  the  stock  after  a  long  absence.  On 
the  7th  Carrie  Cogswell  had  a  "benefit,"  and  J.  H.  Vinson 
on  the  loth.  On  the  I3th  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rea  "benefited" 
with  the  play  of  "Rob  Roy,"  and  gave  out  satin  programs  as 
souvenirs  of  the  occasion.  On  the  I4th  Miss  Annie  Graham 
commenced  an  engagement  of  eight  nights  in  the  "Lady  of 
Lyons,"  and  played  legitimate  repertory.  On  the  24th  Asen- 
ith  Adams  (now  Mrs.  Kiskadden)  had  a  benefit  and  played 
"Elzina."  This  was  some  seventeen  months  after  Maude 
was  born,  A.  J.  Sawtelle  had  a  benefit  on  April  2/th.  On 
the  29th  H.  F.  and  Amy  Stone  opened  a  two  weeks'  en- 
gagement in  "Under  Two  Flags,"  producing  besides  "Elfie," 
"Pearl  of  Savoy,"  "Fanchon,"  "French  Spy."  On  May  nth 
T.  A.  Lyne  had  a  benefit,  giving  scenes  from  "Hamlet"  and 
"Macbeth."  On  the  I2th  Victoria  Woodhull  lectured.  On 
the  1 3th  William  Hoskins  and  Fannie  Colville  opened  four 
nights'  engagement  in  "The  Heir  at  Law,"  "A  Bird  in  the 
Hand,"  and  "The  Critic."  On  the  i8th  inst,  there  was  a  re- 
vival of  Edward  Tullidge's  historical  play,  "Eleanor  De 
Vere,"  with  Jean  Clara  Walters  in  the  title  role,  the  charac- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  131 

ter  originally  played  by  Julia  Deane  Hayne,  and  on  the  22nd 
another  play  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Tullidge  had  its  first  pro- 
duction. The  play  was  entitled  "David  Ben  Israel."  As 
the  title  indicates,  the  play  is  Jewish  and  commemorates  the 
return  of  the  Jews  to  England  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
after  a  banishment  of  four  centuries.  John  S.  Lindsay 
played  the  title  role,  and  Miss  Walters,  Rachel  the  Jewess. 
The  play  made  a  very  pronounced  hit  and  placed  another 
plume  in  Mr.  Tullidge's  cap  as  a  dramatic  author. 

On  the  25th,  W.  A.  Mestayer  opened  a  week's  engage- 
ment in  "On  the  Slope,"  and  with  "The  Octoroon"  and  "An 
Odd  Trick"  gave  much  satisfaction.  "Bill"  Mestayer  for 
years  was  the  heavy  man  at  the  old  California  theatre  in  its 
palmy  days.  As  Jacob  McClosky  in  the  "Octoroon"  he  was 
simply  great.  On  his  last  night  he  appeared  as  Don  Caesar 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Ladies'  Library  Association.  On  June 
ist,  George  Chaplin  made  his  regular  summer  appearance 
in  the  comedy  of  "School,"  from  which  he  graduated  in  one 
night  and  appeared  on  the  following  evening  as  Count  Monte 
Cristo.  He  played  Monte  again  on  the  4th.  On  the  5th 
George  took  a  layoff  as  the  Lingards,  Horace  and  Dickie, 
got  in  on  that  date  with  "The  Spitsefields  Weaver,"  and 
gave  one  performance.  Chaplin  resumed  with  the  stock 
company  on  the  following  night,  June  6th,  and  played  the 
week  out,  giving  his  services  on  the  last  night  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Theatre  corporation.  The  following  week  the  stock 
company  gave  a  liberal  proportion  of  their  salaries  to  the 
series  of  performances  for  the  benefit  of  the  corporation. 
Seven  performances  were  given  for  this  benefit.  James  A. 
Herne  appeared  in  four  of  them,  Chaplin  in  one,  the  com- 
pany  in  all  seven.  Although  Clawson  and  Caine  were  the 
nominal  lessees  and  managers,  they  had  associated  with 
them  before  opening  this  season,  several  partners  in  the 
venture  and  the  concern  was  known  as  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre 
Corporation.  Mr.  Thomas  Williams  was  the  treasurer  and 
presided  over  the  box  office  during  this  regime,  and  with 
such  peerless  bonhomie  as  made  "Tom"  (everybody  called 
him  "Tom")  the  acknowledged  prince  of  ticket  sellers.  It 
was  evident  from  this  benefit  business  that  the  corporation 
had  not  had  the  profitable  season's  business  they  had  expect- 
ed when  they  opened  with  such  flying  colors  in  the  previous 
October.  The  truth  was  the  corporation  was  very  much  in 


132  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

the  hole,  and  this  series  of  benefit  performances  were  de- 
signed to  lighten  their  financial  burdens  and  did  to  some 
extent,  yet  the  close  of  the  season  found  them  heavily  in 
debt,  and  there  were  serious  results  threatening,  but  the 
leniency  of  the  creditors  averted  disaster.  The  summer  was 
now  on  but  the  stars  kept  on  coming.  Salt  Lake  was  a  reg- 
ular resort  for  them.  When  they  could  do<  no  business  else- 
where, owing  to  heat,  they  made  for  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre. 
It  was  the  coolest  place  in  the  city  in  those  days  and  before 
we  had  any  summer  resorts  the  people  would  go  and  see 
these  midsummer  night  performances.  Our  old  Hibernian 
friend,  Joe  Murphy,  was  the  next  in  line,  opening  on  the 
1 5th  inst.  with  more  "Help,"  which  he  worked  for  all  it 
was  worth  three  nights  and  filled  out  the  remainder  of  the 
week  with  a  new  Irish  drama,  "Maum  Cree."  This  was  Joe's 
debut  in  Irish  character  work  and  he  had  come  to  Salt  Lake 
City  again  to  "try  it  on  the  dog."  He  had  good  support  and 
"Maum  Cree"  received  a  favorable  verdict  from  the  Salt 
Lake  theatre  goers  and  Joe  Murphy  was  successfully 
launched  onto  the  dramatic  sea  as  an  Irish  comedian.  Fol- 
lowing Mr.  Murphy  came  the  Coleman  Sisters  for  a  week. 
They  opened  on  the  22nd  of  June  in  Charles  XII  and  played 
besides  this  piece,  "Day  after  the  Fair,"  "The  Deal  Boat- 
man," and  "Pouter's  Wedding."  In  common  with  many 
others  the  Colemans  flitted  across  our  dramatic  horizon  and 
never  returned.  On  the  3Oth  inst.  John  S.  Lindsay  had  a 
benefit  on  which  occasion  he  appeared  in  the  character  of 
Rolla  in  the  play  of  "Pizarro."  The  farce  of  the  "Lottery 
Ticket"  was  played  after  "Pizarro"  to  make  up  a  good  full 
evening's  entertainment.  "Billie"  Crosbie  was  the  star  com- 
edian in  "The  Lottery  Ticket."  The  stock  played  only  a  few 
nights  after  this,  closing  the  season  on  the  4th  of  July. 

On  July  1 8th,  Victoria  Woodhull  drew  a  large  audience 
to  hear  her  lecture  on  "The  Beecher  Scandal."  The  Beecher 
trial  at  that  time  was  the  sensation  of  the  day.  The  lecture 
drew  a  crowded  house  and  Victoria  took  occasion  to  fire  red 
hot  shot  at  Beecher  and  the  clergy  in  general,  getting  in 
some  hard  blows  on  the  perfidy  of  the  men  in  general  and 
the  advantage  they  took  of  poor,  confiding  women. 

It  seemed  impossible  to  keep  the  theatre  closed  for  more 
than  a  few  weeks  even  in  the  hottest  portion  of  the  summer, 
owing  more  to  the  anxiety  of  the  "strolling  players"  to  put 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        133 

in  a  portion  of  their  summer  in  Salt  Lake  than  any  feverish 
desire  on  the  part  of  the  theatre  patrons  to  see  them.  Com- 
panies going  to  and  from  San  Francisco  were  always  glad  to 
get  in  a  few  nights  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  as  it  broke  the 
long  jump  between  the  coast  and  Denver  and  was  pretty 
sure  to  be  profitable.  Accordingly  the  theatre  was  reopened 
on  August  3rd  with  the  Yokes  family  for  one  week.  The 
Vokeses  were  great  favorites  here  and  did  a  very  fair  business 
despite  the  hot  weather  prevailing. 


134  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

SEASON    OF    '74-'75- 

To  open  this  season  the  stock  company  were  brought 
into  requisition  again  and  played  up  to  the  5th  of  September. 
On  the  7th  and  8th  Howarth's  Hibernica,  a  panoramic  show 
with  specialties  rilled  in  the  time.  The  Vokeses  returned  on 
the  9th  and  filled  out  the  remainder  of  the  week,  making  ten 
nights  and  two  matinees  they  got  in  during  the  heated  term 
which  was  sufficient  proof  of  their  popularity.  Close  on 
their  heels  came  the  Hoskins-Darrell  combination,  consist- 
ing of  William  Hoskins,  his  wife,  Fannie  Colville,  George 
Darrell  and  his  wife.  They  were  supported  by  the  stock 
company  and  played  from  the  I4th  to  the  23rd  inclusive. 
Hoskins  was  an  English  actor  of  great  and  varied  exper- 
ience, and  in  high  comedy  roles  was  greatly  admired.  He 
was  a  man  of  sixty  years  of  age  and  had  been  in  Australia 
for  a  good  many  years.  His  wife,  Fannie  Colville,  was  very 
much  his  junior,  in  fact,  it  was  a  May  and  December  alli- 
ance and  apparently  bore  the  usual  kind  of  fruit.  Fanny 
was  not  a  great  actress  but  was  very  pretty  and  attractive, 
in  fact,  too  much  so  to  prove  comfortable  to  her  much  senior 
lord  and  master.  The  Darrells  were  clever  and  talented. 
The  combination  proved  fairly  successful.  They  toured 
about  the  country  for  a  year  or  so  and  then  returned  to  Aus- 
tralia with  more  experience  than  money,  wiser  if  not  richer. 
They  wooed  content  in  their  former  home. 

The  October  conference  approaching,  the  stock  com- 
pany were  put  in  rehearsal  for  some  suitable  plays  and  the 
"Royal  Marrionettes"  were  put  in  as  an  additional  attrac- 
tion for  the  conference  season  and  continued  for  nine  nights 
from  October  5th  to  the  I3th  inclusive.  The  Marrionettes 
proved  to  be  highly  amusing  and  interesting  entertainment 
and  combined  with  the  efforts  of  the  stock  company  in 
drama  gave  the  conference  visitors  the  worth  of  their  money 
and  replenished  the  treasury  to  a  considerable  extent. 

The  next  attraction  also  worked  in  conjunction  with 
the  stock  company.  This  was  Laura  Honey  Stevenson  (now 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  135 

Mrs.  Church),  a  lady  of  some  celebrity  as  a  reader.  She  was 
assisted  in  her  entertainments  by  a  brilliant  young  baritone 
singer,  Mr.  John  McKenzie,  whose  singing  proved  to  be 
quite  taking  and  this  conjunction  lasted  for  eight  nights. 

It  was  during  this  last  engagement  that  there  occurred 
quite  an  exodus  from  the  Salt  Lake  Stock  company  to  John 
Piper's  theatre  at  Virginia  City,  Nevada.  Mr.  J.  A.  Saw- 
telle  and  wife  and  daughter,  a  girl  of  twelve  or  fourteen 
years,  Miss  Adams  (Mrs.  Kiskadden),  her  daughter  Maude, 
now  two  years  old,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Kiskadden,  Miss 
Carrie  Cogswell-Carter  with  her  son  Lincoln  J.,  then 
about  ten  years  of  age,  and  the  writer  went  to  Virginia  City, 
all  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Kiskadden  and  the  children 
being  under  engagement  to  play  with  Piper  for  the  ensuing 
season.  There  is  much  of  interest  connected  with  this  exo- 
dus from  Salt  Lake.  It  materially  weakened  the  stock 
forces,  taking  away  the  leading  man,  Mr.  Sawtelle,  the  lead- 
ing heavy  (the  writer),  and  leading  juvenile  lady,  Miss 
Adams,  and  Miss  Cogswell,  the  principal  heavy  woman ; 
but. their  places  were  filled  in  a  little  while  and  the  stock 
pushed  along  in  the  same  old  way. 

The  combination  system,  however,  was  now  gaining 
ground  and  the  stock  companies  throughout  the  country  be- 
gan to  suffer  correspondingly,  their  engagements  becoming 
more  and  more  intermittent  as  the  traveling  combination  be- 
came more  numerous. 

At  the  opening  of  the  season  of  '74  and  '75  there  were 
so  many  combinations  booked  that  the  managers  of  the  Salt 
Lake  Theatre  could  not  offer  the  stock  company  a  season's 
engagement,  but  only  brief  periodical  engagements  between 
the  dates  of  the  various  combinations.  It  was  in  conse- 
quence of  this  that  the  above  mentioned  members  of  the  com- 
pany took  a  season's  engagement  with  Mr.  Piper  of  Vir- 
ginia City.  The  Comstock  was  booming  in  those  days  and 
the  theatre  ran  every  night,  Sundays  included.  At  the  close 
of  the  Piper  season,  Miss  Adams  went  to  San  Francisco 
taking  Maudie  with  her.  There  they  made  their  home ;  Mr. 
Kiskadden  having  preceded  them  there  and  obtained  a  good 
situation  as  a  bookkeeper  with  the  firm  of  Park  &  Lacy.  Mrs. 
Kiskadden  played  occasional  engagements  at  the  San  Fran- 
cisco theatres  and  there  in  due  time  little  Maude  made  her 
first  voluntary  appearance  on  the  stage,  her  first  appearance 
which  occurred  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  when  she  was  yet 


136  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

in  long1  clothes,  having  been  an  involuntary  one  in  which  her 
feelings  or  inclinations  were  not  consulted. 

The  writer's  stay  in  Virginia  City  was  brief.  Receiving 
an  offer  from  James  A.  Herne,  who  was  managing  stage 
at  the  Bush  Street,  San  Francisco  for  Tom  Maguire,  and 
being  anxious  to  visit  the  Golden  Gate  city,  I  got  Mr.  Piper 
to  honorably  release  me  by  showing  him  how  he  could  get 
along  without  me  and  save  my  salary.  So,  after  playing  a 
week  at  Sacramento  during  the  State  fair,  I  left  the  Piper 
'company  and  went  to  San  Francisco  by  steamboat  which 
was  running  opposition  to  the  railroad,  giving  very  low  rates 
— only  fifty  cents  from  Sacramento  to  San  Francisco.  Mr. 
Kiskadden,  who  had  been  with  his  wife  and  baby  Maude 
since  leaving  Salt  Lake,  decided  to  take  advantage  of  this 
low  excursion  rate  on  the  steamer  and  go  to  San  Francisco 
also  in  the  search  of  a  situation.  "Jim,"  as  he  was  familiarly 
called,  was  always  ready  for  a  little  sport  in  the  way  of  a 
game  of  cards  or  billiards,  so  as  soon  as  the  boat  got  under 
way,  he  got  into  a  game  of  cards  with  some  kindred  spirits 
and  although  a  crack  player  and  usually  a  winner,  on  this 
occasion  he  lost  every  cent  he  had — moreover  he  likewise 
lost  his  hat,  a  nice  new  summer  one  he  had  recently  pur- 
chased. The  wind  was  blowing  strong  upstream  and  a  sud- 
den puff  took  his  hat  into  the  river,  leaving  "Jim"  bare- 
headed and  dead  broke ;  not  a  very  desirable  plight  to  be  in 
going  a  stranger  into  a  strange  city.  Moreover,  to  add  to 
his  discomfort,  he  was  wearing  a  summer  suit  and  as  we 
approached  San  Francisco  the  weather  was  cold  and  foggy, 
and  "Jim's"  clothes  were  decidedly  unseasonable  when  we 
reached  our  destination.  Fortunately  he  had  his  trunk  along 
and  as  soon  as  he  got  located  he  effected  a  change  of  costume, 
but  he  was  in  a  dilemma  for  money  to  live  on  till  he  could 
find  a  job  and  he  appealed  to  me  to  lend  him  a  certain  sum, 
which  I  was  unable  to  do,  having  barely  enough  to  see  me 
through  till  I  would  have  a  week's  salary  due,  but  I  let  him 
have  enough  for  immediate  necessities,  and  he  was  not  long 
in  finding  friends  and  a  good  situation. 

My  engagement  at  the  Bush  Street  did  not  last  very 
long.  The  house  was  doing  a  struggling  business  when  I 
went  there.  Emerson's  minstrels  just  across  the  street  were 
doing  a  phenomenal  business,  turning  people  away  every 
night,  while  "Jim"  Herne  at  the  head  of  a  good  company, 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  137 

was  playing-  to  very  meager  houses.  "Zoe  the  Cuban 
Sylph"  was  the  reigning  star  when  I  opened  there  and  my 
opening  part  was  an  Indian — Conanchet,  chief  of  the  Nara- 
gansetts,  in  the  "Wept  of  the  Wishton  Wish." 

The  Bush  Street  theatre  season  ended  rather  inglorious- 
ly  soon  after  the  New  Year  holiday.  I  had  on  the  very  morn- 
ing preceding  our  closing  night,  received  a  telegram  from 
Mr.  Piper  of  Virginia  City,  offering  me  the  leading  business 
for  the  remainder  of  the  season,  but  declined  it,  believing 
the  Bush  would  struggle  along.  That  night  we  had  a  new 
piece  on,  "The  Circus  Queen,"  and  it  proved  such  a  failure 
that  Tom  Maguire  decided  to  close,  which  he  did  without 
any  previous  notice,  so  the  entire  company  were  out  of  a 
job.  Next  morning  I  lost  no  time  wiring  to  Piper  to  know 
if  the  engagement  was  still  open  to  me  and  in  a  few  hours 
I  had  received  the  agreeable  answer  "yes"  and  took  the  train 
the  same  day  for  Virginia  City.  I  had  been  there  about 
three  weeks  when  I  met  T.  B.  H.  Stenhouse,  who  was  there 
writing  up  the  Comstock  mines  for  the  New  York  Herald. 
He  said  to  me,  "They  need  you  in  Salt  Lake  badly;  why 
don't  you  wire  them?  Katherine  Rogers  opens  there  Mon- 
day night  for  a  two  weeks'  engagement  and  they  have  no 
competent  leading  man  to  support  her."  "Well,"  I  said, 
"they  know  where  I  am.  If  they  want  me  why  don't  they 
wire  me?"  "Will  you  go,"  said  he,  "if  I  wire  for  you  and 
get  you  the  engagement?"  "Yes,"  I  replied,  "I  shall  be  glad 
to  go,  for  I  am  tired  of  this."  So  he  went  right  off  and 
wired,  and  the  next  day  I  left  for  home,  but  did  not  arrive 
in  time  to  open  with  Miss  Rogers  in  the  opening  bill,  but 
got  in  on  the  second  night  and  played  throughout  the  rest 
of  the  engagement. 

I  had  been  absent  from  October  I4th,  1874,  to  January 
26th,  1875,  a  little  over  three  months,  during  which  time 
the  following  attractions  appeared  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre: 
The  Wheeler  Comedy  troupe,  October  29th  to  3 1st.  On 
November  2nd,  Risley's  Panorama  "Mirror  of  England" 
opened  for  a  week.  On  the  I3th  and  I4th  the  Infantry  com- 
bination. On  the  1 6th  Frank  Mayo  and  Rosa  Rand  opened 
a  week's  engagement  presenting  "Davy  Crockett"  and 
"Streets  of  New  York."  On  the  25th  Agnes  Booth  and 
Joseph  Wheelock  opened  in  'Much  Ado  About  Nothing," 
and  filled  out  a  week  with  "King  John"  and  the  comedy 


138  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

"Engaged."  On  December  2nd  R.  H.  Cox,  familiarly  known 
as  "Daddy  Cox,"  among  professionals  on  the  coast,  opened 
a  four  nights'  engagement  with  "The  Detective,"  which  went 
for  two  nights.  The  other  two  nights  he  gave  "The  Bells 
That  Rang  Nellie  a  Bride."  Daddy  Cox  had  recently  left 
Piper's  theatre  in  Virginia  City,  where  he  had  been  stage 
manager  for  a  time. 

On  the  9th,  Harry  Rickards,  an  English  comic  singer 
of  great  spread  and  self  importance,  opened  for  a  week's 
engagement  in  conjunction  with  the  stock  company.  Rick- 
ards was  recently  from  Australia  and  put  in  a  week  at  the 
Bush  Street  during  the  writer's  engagement  there.  His 
singing  and  style  did  not  catch  on  with  the  San  Francis- 
cans. He  was  too  "awfully  English,  yer  know."  He  did 
not  prove  any  great  attraction  in  Salt  Lake.  On  the  2ist  a 
grand  concert  was  given  for  the  benefit  of  the  Catholic 
church.  On  the  22nd,  W.  J.  Florence  opened  for  a  week, 
supported  by  the  stock  company.  His  opening  play  was 
"Dombey  and  Son."  He  gave  besides  "No  Thoroughfare" 
and  the  "Colleen  Bawn."  Each  piece  ran  two  nights,  carry- 
ing the  season  through  the  Christmas  holidays  and  the  house 
closed  with  his  last  performance  on  the  26th  until  New 
Year's  day.  January  ist,  1875,  tne  theatre  reopened  with 
the  stock  company,  who,  without  the  assistance  of  any  stel- 
lar attraction,  played  two  weeks  when  the  house  closed 
again  until  the  25th  inst. 

Of  the  people  who  had  comprised  the  stock  company 
the  previous  season,  the  following  members  had  drifted 
away :  J.  Al.  Sawtelle,  leading  man ;  Mrs.  Sawtelle,  gen- 
eral utility;  John  S.  Lindsay,  leading  heavy;  Asenith  Ad- 
ams (Mrs.  Kiskadden),  leading  juveniles;  W.  S.  Crosbie, 
comedian;  Arrah  Crosbie,  characters;  J.  H.  Vinson,  first 
old  man  and  stage  manager ;  Buck  Zabriske,  prompter.  The 
uncertain  and  spasmodic  nature  of  the  engagements  this 
season,  which  had  caused  this  strong  contingent  of  the  com- 
pany to  seek  other  engagements,  also  prevented  the  accession 
of  new  people  to  the  ranks  of  the  stock  company,  so  that  it 
was  in  a  rather  dilapidated  and  weakened  condition,  especial- 
ly for  the  support  of  legitimate  repertoire,  such  as  Kather- 
ine  Rogers  presented  for  the  patrons  of  the  drama. 

On  January  25th  she  opened  in  "Romeo  and  Juliet."  Mr. 
"Mike"  Foster  was  the  Romeo  for  the  occasion.  The  "lead- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  139 

ing  men''  were  all  out  of  the  way  and  this  was  sudden  pro- 
motion for  Foster — one  of  those  opportunities  that  come 
but  rarely  to  the  ambitious  young  actor,  and  nearly  always 
bring  new  honors  and  distinction.  "Mike"  struggled  man- 
fully with  his  task,  but  he  did  not  make  an  ideal  Romeo.  On 
the  following  evening  the  writer  made  his  reappearance 
with  the  company,  after  an  absence  of  three  months.  He 
played  Master  Walter  in  the  "Hunchback"  on  the  occasion 
and  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  audience.  Miss  Rogers 
played  in  addition  to  "Romeo  and  Juliet"  and  the  "Hunch- 
back," "As  You  Like  It,"  "Love's  Sacrifice,"  "Pygmalion  and 
Galatea,"  "Lady  of  Lyons,"  "Leah,"  in  which  the  writer 
played  the  following  characters  respectively:  Jacques, 
Matthew  Elmore,  Pygmalion,  Claude  Melnotte,  Lorenz. 
Such  a  repertory,  where  each  play  ran  for  but  two  perform- 
ances, put  the  company  on  high  tension.  Those  who  had 
new  parts,  and  particularly  if  they  had  never  played  in  the 
pieces,  found  it  very  exacting  work.  Fortunately  for  the 
writer,  he  had  played  most  of  the  parts  before,  yet  it  was  a 
busy  time  for  him  during  that  engagement. 

Following  closely  on  Miss  Rogers  with  her  legitimate 
plays,  came  the  English  comedian  known  professionally  as 
Willie  Gill  and  his  wife,  Rose  Bain.  These  co-stars  had 
recently  been  associated  with  the  writer  at  Piper's  theatre 
at  Virginia  City,  where  they  played  for  a  month  or  so  in 
stock  and  it  was  a  little  of  a  surprise  to  me  to  find  they  had 
suddenly  materialized  into1  stars  and  were  billed  for  a  week 
at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  With  sublime  assurance,  es- 
pecially for  a  play  writer,  which  Willie  even  then  professed 
to  be  (as  well  as  a  comedian),  he  put  up  Mark  Twain's  "A 
Gilded  Age."  The  piece  had  been  but  recently  dramatized 
and  had  made  a  marked  success  with  John  T.  Raymond  as 
Col.  Sellers.  Raymond  had  played  several  engagements 
with  us  at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  and  was  a  great  favorite, 
and  was  looking  forward  to  another  visit  in  the  near  future 
with  his  greatest  success,  Col.  Sellers.  Some  one  apprised 
him  by  telegram  that  Gill  was  billed  to  play  the  piece  here 
and  he  promptly  wired  a  well  known  law  firm  to  enjoin  Gill 
from  playing  it.  The  managers,  Clawson  and  Caine,  were 
also  warned  not  to  play  it,  so  an  emergency  bill  was  pre- 
pared in  the  event  that  they  should  be  estopped.  The  law 
firm  had  taken  the  necessary  proceedings  and  just  before 


140  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

"ringing  up"  time,  as  no  change  of  performance  had  been 
announced,  they  appeared  on  the  scene  with  the  necessary 
officer  and  papers  and  the  performance  of  "A  Gilded  Age" 
was  formally  and  effectually  enjoined.  "All  That  Glitters  Is 
Not  Gold"  was  substituted.  This  was  a  lesson  to  the  Eng- 
lish comedian  late  from  Australia  which  he  possibly  never 
forgot,  especially  as  a  few  years  later  he  retired  from  the 
stage  and  settled  down  in  New  York  as  a  professional  writer 
for  the  stage.  He  was  a  clever  adapter  and  dramatizer,  as 
his  version  of  "A  Gilded  Age"  bore  witness,  and  he  no  doubt 
found  plenty  of  materials  to  use  in  his  craft,  whose  authors 
were  not  so  well  known  as  Mark  Twain  nor  so  particular 
in  regard  to  their  copyrights.  Willie  learned  the  truth  of  the 
axiom  that  "All  that  glitters  is  not  gold,"  even  "A  Gilded 
Age''  on  that  memorable  night,  for  it  materially  injured  the 
business  during  the  remainder  of  his  engagement. 

"Built  on  Sand"  was  the  next  evening's  offering — and  it 
was  probably  too  suggestive  of  Willie's  hopes  in  respect  to 
"A  Gilded  Age"  to  be  a  good  drawing  card,  so  it  only  went 
the  one  night.  The  company  had  their  work  cut  out  here  also ; 
the  next  play  was  a  new  one  with  them ;  he  called  it  Madge 
of  Elvanlee ;  it  was  a  dramatization  of  Charles  Gibbons  "For 
the  King,"  a  very  powerful  story  of  the  Restoration  period, 
and  gave  Rose  Bain,  his  wife,  the  chance  of  her  life  to 
make  a  hit  as  a  leading  actress ;  but  she  failed  to  score  any 
marked  success,  giving  only  a  passable  rendition  of  the  char- 
acter. Fortunately  again  for  this  individual,  he  had  during 
his  absence  played  in  this  play  at  the  Bush  Street  Theatre. 
Jim  Herne  used  it  as  the  vehicle  for  the  debut  of  a  talented 
San  Francisco'  lady,  who  created  a  little  ripple  of  excite- 
ment by  her  advent  on  the  stage.  I  afterwards  played  the 
leading  character  in  it  at  Virginia  in  conjunction  with  Miss 
Bain  and  Mr.  Gill,  so  that  it  was  comparatively  easy  for 
me  in  regard  to  study.  This  play  was  forced  two  nights, 
meantime  the  company  had  another  new  play  sprung  on 
them  for  Friday  night.  Miss  Rose  Bain  was  evidently  bent 
on  being  the  bright  particular  star  of  this  engagement.  Wil- 
lie had  failed  in  his  Col.  Sellers  scheme,  and  Rose  saw  her 
opportunity  and  pushed  it  to  the  utmost.  "The  Sphinx,"  a 
mythological  play,  taxing  the  powers  of  no  less  an  actress 
than  Annette  Ince  (one  of  the  greatest  of  her  time)  was  the 
next  offering  to  the  public,  and  an  exacting  task  for  the  com- 
pany. Here  again  I  was  lucky,  as  I  had  only  about  six  weeks 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  141 

before  played  a  week  in  the  piece  with  Miss  Ince  at  the  Bush 
Street  theatre,  and  although  I  had  now  a  different  part,  I 
was  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  play  to  make  my  task  easy, 
as  compared  with  the  rest  of  the  company. 

''The  Sphinx"  did  not  prove  popular,  owing  largely  to 
Miss  Bain's  inadequacy.  So  "Madge  of  Elvanlee"  was  re- 
stored for  Saturday  night,  and  so  ended  a  very  unprofitable 
week,  both  for  "stars"  and  management.  Willie  Gill  after- 
wards acquired  fame  as  the  writer  of  several  successful  com- 
edy sketches.  Rose  Bain  we  have  never  heard  of  since. 
From  the  I3th  to  the  22nd  of  February,  the  theatre  was 
dark,  which  gave  the  overworked  stock  company  a  rest  they 
no  doubt  enjoyed,  but  cut  off  their  salaries,  which  they  did 
not  relish. 

On  the  22nd,  Washington's  Birthday,  the  theatre  was 
used  as  a  ball  room — the  Firemen  gave  a  "Grand  Ball"  and 
for  the  occasion  the  theatre  was  transformed,  as  it  had  been 
a  number  of  times  before,  to  accommodate  an  enormous 
crowd  of  dancers.  The  entire  parquet  was  covered  with 
floor  made  in  sections,  making  the  stage  and  the  auditorium 
into  one  vast  dancing  hall.  Hundreds  who  did  not  partici- 
pate in  the  dance  paid  admission  fees  to  sit  in  the  circles 
and  watch  the  dancers  go  through  the  bewitching  and  be- 
wildering figures  to  the  strains  of  a  fine  orchestra  secured 
for  the  occasion.  By  the  following  evening,  the  floor  was 
removed,  the  chairs  back  in  place,  and  the  theatre  had  re- 
sumed its  normal  appearance.  On  this  date,  the  23rd,  The 
Alleghanians,  a  company  of  Swiss  Bell  Ringers  and  Vocal- 
ists, opened  and  played  throughout  the  remainder  of  the 
week,  five  nights  and  a  matinee.  The  company  had  now 
had  a  three  weeks'  rest  and  were  anxious  to  be  doing  some- 
thing again,  so  a  series  of  "benefits"  were  put  on.  Com- 
mencing on  March  6th,  Clara  Jean  Walters  took  a  benefit, 
playing  Edward  Tullidge's  "Ben  Israel,"  a  very  powerful 
play  commemorative  of  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  England. 
On  the  8th  Mr.  Lindsay  "benefited,"  played  "Jack  Cade," 
and  on  the  loth  E.  B.  Mar  den,  who  had  been  in  the  stock 
for  several  years,  took  a  benefit,  playing  Featherly  in  "Every- 
body's Friend."  The  theatre  was  again  closed  until  the  22nd 
inst.,  when  The  Lingards  came  in  and,  supported  by  the 
stock,  stiffened  up  business  to  some  extent;  continued  until 
the  3 1  st.  The  April  Conference  being  close  at  hand,  it  was 
decided  to  play  the  stock  through  the  Conference  in  some 


142  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

of  the  old  favorites,  and  they  continued  right  along  after  the 
Lingards  left.  That  is  the  marvelous  part  of  it  that  they 
could  do  any  business  after  dropping  out  a  strong  stellar 
attraction,  but  on  they  played  through  the  Conference  and 
on  up  to  the  ist  of  May,  when  the  season  closed  and  with 
the  season  the  management  under  the  ''Salt  Lake  Theatre 
Corporation"  closed. 

Their  second  season  had  not  proved  sufficiently  profit- 
able, although  they  had  severely  curtailed  expenses  by  cut- 
ting down  the  company,  to  clear  them  of  indebtedness,  and 
the  corporation  quit  badly  in  the  hole. 

The  close  of  the  Clawson  and  Caine  management  and 
the  end  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  Corporation  was  virtually 
the  retirement  of  the  stock  company,  which  had  been  playing 
from  the  opening  of  the  theatre  in  '62  up  to  the  present  date, 
May  ist,  1875,  a  period  of  13  years.  Of  course  a  great  many 
changes  had  taken  place  during  those  years  in  the  personnel 
of  the  company,  but  a  few  of  the  original  members  re- 
mained, and  the  organization  or  ensemble  of  the  company 
had  been  kept  intact.  Now,  however,  the  gradually  en- 
croaching combination  system  made  it  impracticable  for  the 
managers  to  offer  a  season's  engagement  to  those  who  were 
willing  and  anxious  to  engage.  The  necessity  for  a  stock 
company  became  rapidly  less  from  this  time  on,  until  in  the 
year  1878  it  had  become  defunct  altogether. 

Two  entertainments  were  given  after  the  closing  of  the 
stock  company,  before  the  corporation  relinquished  the 
house — on  May  4th,  Petroleum  V.  Nasby  lectured,  and  on 
the  8th  Mr.  Mark  Wilton  rented  the  theatre  and  put  up 
"The  Ticket  of  Leave  Man"  for  a  benefit.  To  show  the 
status  of  the  company  at  this  particular  time,  the  program 
for  the  benefit  performance  is  here  appended : 

SALT  LAKE  THEATRE. 

Salt  Lake  Theatre  Corporation Proprietors 

Clawson   and   Caine    Managers 

SATURDAY  EVENING,  MAY  8TH,  1875. 

Mr.  Mark  Wilton  has  engaged  the  Theatre  for  this 
night  and  will  produce  the  great  drama  of 

"THE  TICKET  OF  LEAVE  MAN." 
Supported  by  the  following 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  143 

CAST   OF   CHARACTERS  : 

Bob  Briefly,  a  Lancashire  lad.  . .  .Mr.  John  S.  Lindsay 

James  Dalton  (the  Tiger) Mr.  M.  Forester 

Hawkshaw  (a  detective)    Mr.  Mark  Wilton 

Melter  Moss  (a  crook Mr.  J.  C.  Graham 

Mr.  Gibson  (a  bill  broker)   Mr.  Harry  Taylor 

Sam  Willoughby Miss  Dellie  Clawson 

Maltby   Mr.   Logan   Paul 

Burton   Mr.  H.  Horsley 

May  Edwards Mrs.  Clara  Jean  Walters 

Mrs.  Willoughby  Miss  Belle  Douglas 

This  was  the  last  performance  given  under  the  cor- 
poration managers  and  for  some  time  the  theatre  remained 
without  a  manager ;  if  any  one  wanted  it,  they  had  to  rent  it 
from  President  Brigham  Young  through  one  of  his  clerks. 
My  record  shows  that  the  writer,  on  July  24th  following, 
rented  the  house  at  the  modest  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars 
for  the  bare  house.  We  gave  Bulwer's  five-act  comedy  of 
"Money"  besides  the  farce  "A  Fish  Out  of  Water"  and  a 
musical  interlude,  by  Laura  Honey  Stevenson  and  John  W. 
McKenzie,  a  popular  young  baritone  from  San  Francisco. 
The  total  expense  of  this  performance  was  $357.00,  so  it  was 
a  risk  for  an  individual  to  take,  but  we  pulled  through  clear 
and  had  a  little  left  for  our  trouble. 

About  this  time  Mr.  W.  T.  Harris  or  "Jimmy"  Harris, 
as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was  installed  as  "business  man- 
ager" of  the  theatre;  he  had  succeeded  in  winning  one  of 
Brigham  Young's  daughters,  Miss  Louise  Young,  affection- 
ately called  by  her  friends  "Punk."  The  Annie  Ward  epi- 
sode was  forgotten  or  condoned,  and  Jimmy  had  ingratiated 
himself  so  strongly  in  the  President's  good  graces  as  to  re- 
ceive the  hand  of  his  favorite  daughter,  and  in  order  that 
he  might  provide  liberally  for  her,  he  was  given  the  business 
management  of  the  theatre.  He  assumed  no  financial  re- 
sponsibilities in  accepting  the  position,  but  simply  acted 
as  the  agent  for  Brigham  Young,  to  whom  he  submitted 
matters  of  importance.  He  held  down  his  job  for  two  years 
or  more,  until  some  time  after  the  death  of  Brigham  Young, 
when  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre,  which  had  been  -appropriated 
by  the  late  President,  (although  built  with  Church  means) 
in  the  settlement  of  Brigham's  estate  reverted  to  the  Church. 
This  brought  a  change  of  management  and  Mr.  Harris  was 
superseded  by  H.  B.  Clawson,  one  of  the  former  managers. 


144  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

SEASON  OF  '75J76. 

In  the  following  chapter,  no  attempt  will  be  made  to  give 
a  consecutive  and  complete  list  of  the  attractions  which  ap- 
peared during  the  season,  but  a  running  notice  will  be  made 
of  the  most  important  engagements,  and  especially  of  the 
new  stars  that  appeared. 

The  combination  system  was  gradually  forcing  the  stock 
company  from  the  theatre.  Engagements  with  the  stock 
people  were  now  intermittent  and  uncertain,  and  for  that 
reason  the  company  kept  dwindling  until  eventually  it  be- 
came a  thing  of  the  past.  During  this  season,  however,  they 
were  called  in  to  support  a  good  many  stars.  It  took  several 
seasons  for  the  combination  system  to  completely  supersede 
the  stock  system. 

On  August  1 2th,  Jennie  Lee,  who  had  been  a  favorite 
soubrette  in  the  California  theatre,  San  Francisco,  and  her 
husband,  J.  T.  Burnett,  opened  a  week's  engagement  in  the 
play  of  May  Blossom,  supported  by  the  stock.  Immediately 
following,  opening  on  the  2oth  of  August,  came  Augustin 
Daly's  company  on  their  way  to  San  Francisco.  They  played 
three  nights,  presenting  "Saratoga,"  "The  Big  Diamond"  and 
"Divorce." 

Fanny  Davenport  was  the  "leading  lady"  of  this  com- 
pany. It  was  the  first  dramatic  company  to  cross  the  corti- 
nent  direct  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco.  The  fame 
of  Daly's  company  had  preceded  it,  and  as  a  result  they 
played  to  big  businesses  both  here  and  in  San  Francisco. 

On  the  27th  and  28th,  the  English  Opera  Company 
played  to  good  houses. 

On  September  25th,  the  stock  company  reopened  the 
theatre  which  had  been  dark  for  several  weeks.  Charley 
Vivian,  who  afterwards  organized  the  order  of  Elks,  opened 
in  conjunction  with  the  company,  giving  his  clever  enter- 
tainment, and  this  combination  pulled  through  the  October 
Conference,  when  there  was  another  intermission.  In  De- 
cember, the  stock  company  made  another  spurt,  headed  by 
Clara  Jean  Walters. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        145 

They  reopened  with  "Cherry  and  Fair  Star,"  a  spectac- 
ular play  which  had  an  unusual  run ;  with  this  and  other 
pieces  they  managed  to  keep  going  until  January  2Oth,  1876; 
from  this  date  to  April  ist,  there  were  occasional  attractions 
but  none  of  great  importance. 

On  March  ist,  John  S.  Lindsay,  who  had  been  play- 
ing leads  in  the  stock,  was  tendered  a  complimentary  "bene- 
fit," on  which  occasion  he  appeared  in  the  character  cf 
"Jack  Cade."  To  show  the  personnel  of  the  company  at 
this  particular  period  of  its  history,  the  following  program 
of  the  performance  is  subjoined: 

SALT  LAKE  THEATRE. 
W.  T.  Harris   Business  Manager 


GRAND  COMPLIMENTARY  FAREWELL  BENEFIT 

Tendered  by  the  Members  of  the  Dramatic  Pro- 
fession, and  Prominent  Citizens  of  Salt  Lake  City 
to  the  popular  actor 

JOHN  S.  LINDSAY. 

On  which  occasion  Mr.  Lindsay  will  essay  the  great  char- 
acter of  Jack  Cade. 

WEDNESDAY  EVENING,  MARCH  i,  1876, 

Will   be   presented   Judge   Conrad's   celebrated   tragedy   in 
four  acts,  entitled 

"JACK  CADE,  THE  CAPTAIN  OF  THE  COMMONS." 

The  entire  Corps  Dramatique  have  generously  volun- 
teered. 

CAST  OF  CHARACTERS  ! 

Nobles. 

Lord  Say Mr.  Mark  Wilton 

Lord  Clifford   Mr.  Emmett  Mousley 

Duke  of  Buckingham Mr.  Gus  M.  Clark 

t>uke  of  Suffolk Mr.  B.  W.  Wright 

Courtnay Mr.  J.  C.  Graham 

10 


146  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Commons. 


......................  Mr.  John  S.  Lindsay 

Friar  Lacy  .........................  Mr.  John  T.  Hardie 

Wat  Worthy  ........................  Mr.  Phil  Margetts 

Will  Mowbray  ..................  ......  Mr.  J.  E.  Evans 

Jack  Straw  ............................  Mr.  E.  Mousley 

Bondmen  to  Lord  Say  — 

Dick  Pembroke  ..........  ............  Mr.  H.  Bowring 

Roger  Sutton  ......................  Mr.  Wm.  Wright 

Cade's  Son  (5  years  old)   .  ............  Miss  Edie  Lindsay 

Marinanne   (Cade's  wife)    ..........  .Miss  Lina  Mousley 

Widow  Cade  (Cade's  mother)   ........  Miss  Sarah  Napper 

Kate  Worthy,  betrothed  to  Mowbray.  .  .  .Miss  Lizzie  Davis 

Lords,  Officers,  Peasants,  Bondsmen,  Etc. 

To  be  followed  by  a  musical  interlude. 
Song—  "Give  a  Poor  Fellow  a  Lift".  .Mr.  Phil  Margetts,  Jr. 
For  the  last  time,  the  great  Specialty  of  the  Mulligan 

Guards  .........  By  W.  T.  Harris  and  H.  E.  Bowring 

The  performance  will  conclude  with  the  side-splitting 
farce, 

"A  BASHFUL  BACHELOR." 

Hector  Timid  ........................  Mr.  J.  C.  Graham 

Captain  Cannon  ......................  Mr.  Mark  Wilton 

Dr.  Wiseman   ....................  ,  .  Mr.  H.  E.  Bowring 

Thornton  .............................  Mr.  J.  E.  Evans 

Louisa   ............................  Miss  Lina  Mousley 

Chatter  ............................  Miss  Sarah  Napper 

It  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  an  audience  to  sit 
through  such  a  lengthy  performance  nowadays,  but  such 
was  the  dramatic  pabulum  with  which  we  had  to  entice 
them  into  the  theatre  "in  that  elder  day." 

The  "cast"  in  the  above  program  shows  that  the  stock 
company  had  become  decidedly  weak,  a  number  of  amateurs 
were  worked  in,  and  the  three  comedians,  Margetts,  Bow- 
ring  and  Graham,  are  playing  parts  altogether  out  of  their 
line.  The  lady  assigned  the  "leading  lady's"  part  (Miss 
Mousley)  was  a  clever  amateur  and  this  was  about  her  first 
appearance  at  this  theatre.  The  "leading  ladies"  "seem  to 
have  been  all  in  retirement."  Mr.  Wilton,  "a  serio-comic," 
playing  the  leading  heavy,"  Lord  Say,  and  Mr.  Graham 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        147 

playing"  the  "second  heavy/'  Courtney,  shows  there  was  a 
great  sparsity  of  "heavy  men,"  and  Margetts  and  Bowring 
both  playing  serious  "character  parts,"  plainly  indicates  the 
low  ebb  the  company  had  reached.  It  was  now  a  difficult, 
nay  an  impossible,  task  to  adequately  "cast"  one  of  the  great 
classical  plays. 

Such  was  the  status  of  the  stock  company  at  this  period, 
its  efficiency  having  been  gradually  weakened  by  the  steadily 
increasing  innovation  of  the  combination  or  traveling  com- 
panies. 

Many  of  the  most  popular  stars  had  not  up  to  this  time 
surrounded  themselves  with  their  own  supporting  compan- 
ies, but  continued  to  flit  to  and  fro  across  the  dramatic  firm- 
ament, pausing  to  shed  their  luster  for  a  new  nights  wher- 
ever they  could  find  a  cluster  of  nebula  (stock  company)  to 
shine  among. 

On  April  ist  a  bright  and  attractive  star  appeared  in 
the  person  of  Mr.  Edwin  Adams.  Mr.  Adams  made  a  splen- 
did impression  on  his  first  visit  to  Salt  Lake  and  a  full 
house  was  on  hand  to  greet  him.  The  train  on  which  Mr. 
Adams  arrived  was  several  hours  late  and  the  audience  was 
kept  waiting  more  than  an  hour  after  the  specified  time  of 
commencing.  It  was  nearly  ten  o'clock  when  the  curtain 
rang  up  on  "The  Marble  Heart,"  but  the  audience  exercised 
great  patience,  and  when  at  length  Mr.  Adams  appeared  as 
Phidias  from  between  the  curtains  that  concealed  the  stat- 
ues, exclaiming  "The  man  whose  genius  formed  them,"  he 
received  such  a  warm  and  generous  welcome  as  must  have 
banished  any  doubts  or  misgivings  he  may  have  had  as  to 
how  Salt  Lake  would  receive  him.  As  he  had  not  rehearsed 
with  the  company,  some  apprehensions  were  felt  as  to  how 
the  play  would  go;  but,  after  it  was  over,  Mr.  Adams  warm- 
ly complimented  everybody — especially  the  stage  manager — 
and  declared  it  went  just  as  well  as  if  he  had  been  here  to 
rehearse  it  with  us.  This  was  a  notable  engagement,  Mr. 
Adams  playing  ten  nights  in  all,  his  engagement  running 
through  the  April  Conference.  In  addition  to  "The  Marble 
Heart,"  he  played  "Hamlet,"  "Richelieu,"  "Rover"  (in  "Wild 
Oats"),  "Narcisse"  and  "Enoch  Arden." 

Edwin  Adams  was  destined  to  a  career  as  brief  .as  it  was 
brilliant.  After  leaving  us  he  went  to  San  Francisco  ana 
played  a  successful  engagement,  then  went  to  Australia. 
When  he  returned  from  Australia  to  San  Francisco  he  was 
a  dying  man.  A  benefit  was  given  him  there,  and  he  was 


148  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

wheeled  onto  the  stage  in  an  invalid's  chair  to  acknowledge 
his  gratitude  to  the  San  Franciscans  for  their  kindness  to 
him.  This  was  the  last  seen  of  poor  Edwin  Adams  by  the 
public.  Only  a  few  days  later  and  that  dramatic  genius 
that  was  shedding  luster  on  the  American  stage  was  extinct. 
He  had  contracted  quick  consumption  in  the  antipodes,  and 
by  the  time  he  got  back  to  San  Francisco  his  friends  realized 
he  had  not  long  to  live  and  did  what  they  could  to  show 
their  love  for  him  and  ease  his  passing  to  the  great  be- 
yond. 

The  next  important  engagement  was  that  of  John  T. 
Raymond,  who  appeared  on  August  5th  in  "A  Gilded  Age," 
the  play  in  which  Willie  Gill  was  enjoined  more  than  a  year 
before.  As  Colonel  Sellers,  Raymond  was  simply  inimitable  ; 
Mark  Twain  might  have  had  him  in  his  eye  when  he  created 
the  character.  It  ran  three  performances,  and  if  there  were 
not  "millions  in  it,"  it  was  at  least  a  profitable  engagement 
both  for  Mr.  Raymond  and  the  manager.  Notwithstanding 
it  was  the  hottest  part  of  the  summer,  Raymond  filled  out  a 
week  with  Major  de  Boots  in  the  ''Widow  Hunt,"  and  Caleb 
Plummer  in  "Cricket  on  the  Hearth."  Raymond's  engage- 
ment virtually  closed  the  season  of  '75  and  '76,  and  there 
was  nothing  of  importance  until  the  commencing  of  the 
next  season. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  149 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

SEASON    OF   '76-^77. 

With  the  approach  of  the  October  Conference,  which 
is  always  a  harvest  for  the  theatre,  Mr.  Harris  got  togetnei 
as  strong  a  company  as  possible  and  revived  some  of  the  old 
favorite  plays,  opening  the  season  of  '76  and  '77  a  night 
or  two  before  and  continuing  through  the  Conference  dates 
to  satisfactory  business.  There  was  no  "star"  to  share  with, 
and  the  theatre  reaped  a  handsome  profit. 

The  next  engagement  of  importance  was  that  of  Mr. 
George  Rignold,  an  English  actor,  who  was  starring  in 
"Henry  V."  Rignold  had  come  from  England  and  un- 
der the  management  of  Jarrett  and  Palmer,  "Henry  V."  was 
given  a  fine  production  in  their  New  York  theatre.  For 
some  reason  or  other,  after  a  short  but  successful  run  of  the 
play,  a  disagreement  arose  between  those  popular  managers 
and  Mr.  Rignold.  They  decided  to  supersede  Mr.  Rignold 
with  Lawrence  Barrett.  They  notified  him  accordingly  and 
at  the  expiration  of  the  time  for  which  he  had  been  engaged 
Mr.  Barrett  stepped  into  Rignold's  place  and  the  run  of  the 
play  was  extended  for  several  weeks.  It  was  the  intention 
to  take  the  play  to  San  Francisco  after  the  run  in  New  York. 
This  change  of  stars  threw  Rignold  out  of  the  San  Fran- 
cisco engagement,  much  to  his  chagrin  and  disappointment. 
Not  to  be  out-generaled  the  English  actor  quietly  hastened 
to  San  Francisco.  The  California  Theatre  having  been 
secured  for  the  Jarret  and  Palmer  company,  with  as 
much  dispatch  and  secrecy  as  possible  Rignold  got  a  com- 
pany together.  Soon  as  it  was  known  that  Rignold  was  in 
San  Francisco  and  was  preparing  to  give  the  play  of  "Henry 
V"  at  the  Grand  Opera  House,  the  news  was  duly  wired  to 
Jarrett  and  Palmer ;  not  only  were  they  surprised,  but  greatly 
chagrined,  on  learning  that  the  English  actor  had  gotten 
the  start  of  them  and  was  in  a  fair  way  to  eclipse  their  West- 
ern engagement.  Mr.  Barrett  and  the  managers,  after  a 
rather  excited  consultation,  decided  to  close  the  run  of 
"Henry  V"  with  the  end  of  the  current  week,  and  have 
everything  in  readiness  to  leave  New  York  for  San  Fran- 


150  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

cisco  on  the  following  Sunday.  The  manager  of  the  Cali- 
fornia was  telegraphed  to  announce  the  play  for  the  follow- 
ing Thursday  night.  This  gave  scarcely  a  week  for  adver- 
tising, and  it  seemed  incredible  that  the  company  could 
reach  San  Francisco  by  the  time,  but  Jarrett  and  Palmer  had 
at  great  expense  made  arrangements  with  the  railroad  com- 
pany for  a  special  train,  that  was  to  rush  them  through  from 
New  York  to  San  Francisco  in  four  days.  Barring  acci- 
dents, they  would  arrive  in  San  Francisco  on  Thursday 
morning,  in  time  to  get  their  scenery  in  place  and  play  that 
night. 

It  was  taking  desperate  chances,  but  it  was  at  the  same 
time  a  great  advertising  scheme,  for  never  before  had  such  a 
flying  trip  been  made  across  the  continent,  and  every  paper 
in  the  country  had  an  account  of  it.  "From  Ocean  to  Ocean 
eighty-three  hours..'  Rignold  had  arranged  to  open  the  fol- 
lowing Monday,  but  learning  to  his  amazement  of  the  great 
coup  that  Jarrett  and  Palmer  were  performing  to  get  in 
ahead  of  him,  he  got  a  move  on  too  and  decided  to  keep  the 
lead,  and  open  up  at  least  one  night  ahead  of  them,  which 
was  as  soon  as  he  could  possibly  get  ready.  The  fast  train 
was  the  sensation  of  the  hour,  everybody  was  talking  of  it 
and  awaiting  its  arrival  with  keen  expectancy.  This  na- 
tional advertisement  gave  the  Jarrett  and  Palmer  company 
a  great  advantage  over  Rignold ;  besides,  they  had  much  the 
better  production,  and  the  best  company,  as  Rignold  had  to 
gather  what  support  he  could  and  very  hurriedly  in  San 
Francisco.  This  was  very  sharp  managerial  practice ;  what 
especial  reason  Lawrence  Barrett  and  the  Jarrett  and  Palmer 
management  had  for  this  extraordinary  coup  to  down  the 
English  actor  we  never  learned.  The  rivalry  of  the  two 
Henrys  served  to  throw  theatrical  circles  in  the  Golden  Gate 
City  into  a  feverish  excitement,  and  the  result  was  that  both 
houses  did  a  good  business,  as  every  theatre-goer  felt  in  duty 
bound  to  see  both  actors,  and  then  compare  their  respective 
merits.  Until  Rignold  played  "Henry  V"  in  New  York  no 
American  actor  had  ever  attempted  the  character;  Barrett 
who  had  in  conjunction  with  John  McCullough  managed  the 
California  theatre  during  the  first  three  years  of  its  career, 
saw  an  opportunity  to  do  some  business  there  and  win  some 
fresh  laurels  in  a  new  part.  This  in  a  measure  explains  the 
haste  with  which  the  thing  was  done.  The  rival  Henrys, 
however,  did  not  succeed  in  giving  the  play  a  permanent 
abiding  p'lace  in  popular  favor.  We  think  no  other  Ameri- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  151 

can  actor  has  ever  had  the  temerity  to  try  it,  until  the  bold 
and  undaunted  Richard  Mansfield  gave  a  superb  production 
of  it  a  quarter  of  a  century  later — 1902.* 

After  the  Rignold  date  here,  when  'The  Lady  of 
Lyons,"  "Black-Eyed  Susan,"  and  "Henry  V"  were  given 
with  such  support  as  was  available,  the  stock  played  fitfully, 
interrupted  by  occasional  novelties,  such  as  panoramas  and 
concert  companies,  minstrels  and  the  like,  along  the  holi- 
day season  and  into  the  spring.  On  February  3rd,  John  S. 
Lindsay  was  the  recipient  of  another  "benefit,"  on  which 
occasion  he  exhibited  his  strong  predilection  for  Shakespear- 
ian roles  by  appearing  as  Hamlet,  a  character  in  which  he 
had  already  won  some  local  distinction.  As  on  a  previous 
benefit  occasion,  there  were  several  first  appearances,  and 
the  cast  as  a  whole  was  not  very  satisfactory,  but  our 
friends  were  inclined  to  overlook  many  shortcomings  on 
those  benefit  occasions.  As  if  "Hamlet"  was  not  enough  for 
a  benefit  performance,  we  had  to  tack  on  the  farce  of  "The 
Trials  of  Tompkins,"~in  which  Mr.  Graham  was  wont  to 
shine. 

On  the  23rd  and  24th  of  February,  Mr.  E.  A.  Sothern, 
the  world  renowned  Dundreary,  filled  his  first  engagement  at 
the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  He  exacted  a  certainty  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars  in  gold  coin  for  the  two  nights.  Mr.  Harris 
very  naturally  had  some  hesitancy  about  closing  an  engage- 
ment with  him  on  such  exorbitant  terms,  so  he  made  a  can- 
vass of  his  patrons,  and  after  a  careful  consideration,  "closed 
the  deal"  with  Mr.  Sothern.  The  prices  were  advanced  from 
the  usual  scale  of  twenty-five  cents  to  one  dollar,  to  fifty 
cents  to  two-fifty.  The  house  was  well  filled  on  both  nights 
and  the  management,  not  having  a  very  expensive  company 
or  any  production  to  pay  for  out  of  its  share,  came  out  all 
right.  There  was  much  dissatisfaction,  however,  that  such 
exorbitant  prices  should  be  charged  for  what  at  best  was 
but  an  ordinary  "show,"  especially  the  last  night  when  David 
Garrick  was  presented,  and  by  ten  o'clock  the  play  was  over, 
and  the  general  expression  of  the  patrons  of  the  theatre  was 
"Sold!"  Indeed  so  outspoken  was  the  dissatisfaction  with 
David  Garrick,  and  so  severe  were  the  strictures  of  the  press 


*The  above  account  of  the  "Henry  V"  excursion  is  written 
entirely  from  the  writer's  recollection  of  the  affair,  having  no  avail- 
able data.  It  may  contain  some  slight  inaccuracies,  but  the  main 
facts  were  about  as  here  related. 


152       THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

the  following  morning,  that  Mr.  Sothern  could  not  have  got- 
ten fifty  cents  a  ticket  for  a  third  performance.  As  a  natural 
consequence,  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  came  to  Salt  Lake 
again. 

On  March  loth,  Miss  Annie  Adams  (Mrs.  Kiskadden) 
who  had  recently  returned  on  a  visit  to  Salt  Lake  after  an 
absence  of  three  years  in  San  Francisco,  assisted  by  the 
stock  company,  gave  a  production  of  "The  Two  Orphans," 
Miss  Adams  appearing  as  Louise  and  Miss  Colebrook  as 
Henriette,  the  writer  in  the  character  of  Pierre.  This  was 
the  first  presentation  of  this  play  at  this  theatre  and  it  proved 
a  great  drawing  card. 

The  next  star  attraction  was  one  of  more  than  ordinary 
interest.  The  anniversary  of  Shakespeare's  birth  (and 
death)  on  April  23rd,  Adelaide  Neilson,  the  world  acknowl- 
edged Juliet,  was  announced  to  appear  in  that  character. 
Miss  Neilson  was  well-known  to  our  theatregoers  by  reputa- 
tion as  the  greatest  Juliet  of  the  age,  and  the  demand  for 
seats  was  extraordinary.  The  prices  were  advanced,  but  not 
to  exorbitant  figures,  the  prices  ranging  from  2$c  to  $1.50. 
Every  seat  in  the  house  was  filled,  and  numbers  were  glad  to 
stand  on  both  evenings  rather  than  miss  seeing  the  beautiful 
and  popular  actress.  There  was  no  dissatisfaction  with  this 
engagement ;  everybody  was  pleased  and  delighted,  and  Ade- 
laide Neilson's  praises  were  on  everybody's  lips.  She  could 
have  remained  a  week  and  played  to  full  houses,  but  engage- 
ments ahead  precluded  a  longer  stay ;  she  only  gave  two  per- 
formances, "As  You  Like  It"  being  the  second  bill.  There 
was  only  one  opinion  as  to  her  Juliet,  that  it  was  the  perfect 
embodiment  of  the  character,  her  rich  beauty  of  face  and 
form,  her  exquisite  grace,  her  melodious  voice,  and  the  mar- 
velous power  of  expression  in  her  soft  tender  eyes,  equipped 
her  completely  for  the  part.  As  Rosalind  she  was  equally  as 
charming  if  not  as  brilliant  as  in  Juliet.  The  playing  of 
Romeo  to  her  Juliet,  the  writer  cherishes  as  one  of  the 
pleasantest  memories  of  his  long  professional  career.  A 
year  later  the  beautiful  Neilson  was  dead.  Alas!  for  the 
mutability  of  all  that  is  mundane : 

"She  should  have  died  hereafter ; 
There  would  have  been  a  time  for  such  a  word. 
Tomorrow  and  tomorrow  and  tomorrow, 
Creeps  in  this-  petty  pace  from  day  to  day 
To  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time. 


THE  MORMONS-  AND  THE  THEATRE.        153 

And  all  our  yesterdays  have  lighted  fools 

The  way  to  dusty  death.     Out,  out,  brief  candle ! 

Life's  but  a  walking  shadow,  a  poor  player, 

That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage 

And  then  is  heard  no  more. 

It  is  a  tale  told  by  an  idiot ; 

Full  of  sound  and  fury;  signifying  nothing." 

— Macbeth. 

"The  boast  of  heraldry,  the  pomp  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  ere  gave 
Await  alike  the  inevitable  hour ; 

The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to-  the  grave." 

—Gray's  Elegy. 

The  next  stellar  attraction  was  Ben  de  Bar.  Ben  was 
the  manager  of  one  of  the  St.  Louis  theatres  when  the  writer 
was  a  boy,  and  my  first  introduction  to  the  stage  was  at  De 
Bar's  theatre.  A  young  fellow  who  was  our  neighbor  in  St. 
Ijouis  induced  me  to  go  with  him  and  go  on  as  a  super. 
The  play  was  "Sixtus  V.,  Pope  of  Rome."  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Farren  were  the  stars.  I  made  my  first  acquaintance  with 
the  stage  in  that  play,  as  one  of  the  mob,  little  dreaming  that 
I  would  one  day  be  cast  to  play  Sixtus  V.,  which  I  was  some 
years  afterwards  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre. 

Ben  De  Bar  was  a  popular  comedian  as  well  as  manager 
at  the  time  of  which  I  am  telling,  but  for  some  half  dozen 
years  now  he  has  been  starring  in  the  character  of  Sir  John 
Falstaff.  He  was  very  stout,  and  well  suited  to  the  character 
and  confined  himself  to  it  exclusively,  varying  the  monotony, 
however,  by  playing  both  the  plays  in  which  Sir  John  is  so 
prominent,  "Henry  IV"  and  "The  Merry  Wives  of  Wind- 
sor." 

Ben  had  been  to  San  Francisco  and  had  just  played  an 
engagement  there,  before  coming  to  Salt  Lake.  He  opened 
here  on  May  I7th  in  "The  Merry  Wives."  He  complained 
of  not  feeling  well  and  it  was  quite  preceptible  that  some- 
thing was  the  matter;  he  was  uncertain  and  forgetful.  On 
the  second  night  in  "Henry  IV,"  his  lapses  of  memory  were 
still  more  perceptible.  In  short,  it  was  palpable  to  all  the 
company,  if  not  the  audience,  that  Mr.  De  Bar  was  suffering 
from  some  derangement  of  memory  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
in  places  mar  the  scenes,  and  very  much  embarrass  those 
who  had  dialogue  with  him.  The  writer  was  playing  Hot- 
spur on  the  occasion,  and  had  but  little  to  do  with  the  boast- 


154  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

ful  Sir  John,  but  noticing  his  lapses  of  memory  in  several 
places  and  his  consequent  and  apparent  distress,  kindly  in- 
quired as  to  his  trouble,  when  he  feelingly  told  me  he  had 
suffered  in  San  Francisco  the  same  way,  and  he  felt  no 
confidence  in  himself  whatever.  He  said  his  memory  was 
deserting  him  and  he  feared  his  professional  career  was  at 
an  end.  After  the  play  was  over  he  called  me  into  his 
dressing  room,  and  said :  "Mr.  Lindsay,  I  have  made  my  last 
appearance  on  the  stage.  I  am  done,  sir.  I  feel  that  I  have 
subjected  the  entire  company  tonight  to  a  great  deal  of  em- 
barrassment, and  my  lapses  of  memory  must  have  been  quite 
apparent  to  the  audience.  No,  sir,  I  can  no  longer  rely  on 
my  memory,  and  I  shall  never  attempt  to  play  again.  I  feel 
my  career  is  ended."  His  words  were  pathetic,  and  as  it 
proved,  prophetic;  he  never  did  appear  on  the  stage  again. 
In  less  than  a  year  dear  old  Ben  de  Bar  died  of  softening  of 
the  brain.  Ben  de  Bar  was  about  sixty  years  of  age  when 
he  died.  "What  old  acquaintance !  Could  not  all  this  flesh 
keep  in  a  little  life  ?  Poor  Jack,  farewell !  I  could  have  bet- 
ter spared  a  better  man."  Prince  Hal  in  "Henry  IV,"  Part 
First. 

Salt  Lake  seemed  to  be  an  attractive  summer  resort  for 
a  certain  class  of  attractions,  and  quite  a  number  found  their 
way  here  during  the  very  hottest  of  the  weather.  On  July 
24th  Robert  Heller,  a  very  clever  magician  and  an  excellent 
pianist,  assisted  by  Miss  Helen  (his  sister),  entertained  the 
patrons  of  the  theatre  for  a  week  with  his  very  clever  tricks 
and  fine  piano  playing.  His  second  sight  business,  in  which 
he  was  ably  assisted  by  Miss  Helen,  was  wonderfully  clever, 
and  mystified  the  beholders  very  much  indeed.  He  was  the 
first  to  introduct  a  second-sight  business  here,  and  was  as 
much  of  a  wonder  as  Anna  Eva  Fay  has  since  been. 

On  August  6th,  Rose  Eytinge,  then  in  the  zenith  of  her 
fame,  opened  a  three  nights'  engagement  in  the  play  of  "Rose 
Michel"  and  followed  it  with  "Miss  Multon"  and  "Macbeth." 
The  writer  had  some  hard  work  during  this  brief  engage- 
ment, the  two  first  plays  being  entirely  new  to  him,  in  both 
of  which  he  had  very  long  and  arduous  parts,  and  on  the 
third  night  he  had  to  do  Macbeth.  Rose  Eytinge  at  this 
time  was  one  of  the  best  actresses  and  most  beautiful  wo- 
men we  had  on  the  stage.  Good  gracious !  that  is  twenty- 
eight  years  ago,  and  she  is  still  acting !  but  she  has  to  play 
the  old  woman  now.  When  I  played  with  her  two  years 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  155 

later  in  Portland,  Oregon,  she  was  married  to  an  English 
actor  named  Cyril  Searle,  who  insisted  on  playing  Mac- 
beth, but  made  me  study  Antony  in  "Antony  and  Cleopatra" 
on  very  short  notice  as  the  San  Francisco  papers  had  criti- 
cised his  Antony  so  severely  he  declared  he  would  never  play 
it  again. 

On  August  I4th,  the  Richings-Bernard  Opera  Company 
played  one  night.  Played  again  on  the  i6th.  On  the  follow- 
ing night,  the  I5th,  Tony  Pastor  with  a  fine  vaudeville  com- 
pany, gave  a  great  show — the  first  company  of  that  kind  to 
cross  the  continent  and  play  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  He 
had  a  packed  house,  for  his  show  was  a  great  novelty. 

It  was  a  little  surprising  that  with  the  love  of  the 
drama  so  universal  in  Utah  so  few  contributions  to  dramatic 
literature  were  offered  by  local  authors  for  representation 
on  the  stage.  Those  thought  worthy  of  presentation  by 
the  managers  we  have  already  recorded.  Mr.  E.  L.  Sloan's 
"Osceola"  (an  Indian  play),  in  which  Julia  Dean  and 
George  Waldron  played  the  leading  characters,  and  his 
"Stage  and  Steam,''  a  later  production,  contrasting  the  old 
stage  coach  with  the  locomotive  methods  and  results.  By 
far  the  most  important  local  contributions  to  the  stage  were 
the  plays  of  Edward  W.  Tullidge:  "Eleanor  de  Vere," 
played  by  Julia  Dean  and  stock  company,  "Ben  Israel"  and 
"Oliver  Cromwell,"  played  by  the  local  company.  Now  comes 
John  S.  Lindsay  with  "Under  One  Flag,"  a  drama  of  the 
Civil  War.  This  play  was  presented  for  the  first  time  on 
September  I3th  and  made  so  favorable  an  impression  as  to 
hold  the  boards  for  three  nights.  It  was  repeated  on  Octo- 
ber 5th,  during  the  conference  season,  and  has  been  played 
by  the  author  and  his  company  in  nearly  all  the  towns  and 
cities  of  the  Northwest.  These  performances  of  "Under  One 
Flag"  virtually  closed  the  season  of  '76  and  '77,  which  had 
run  intermittently  all  through  the  summer. 


156  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

SEASON  OF  '77-'78. 

On  October  5th,  the  fall  Conference  was  provided  for. 
The  house  opened  for  the  season  of  '77  and  '78  on  this  date 
with  a  reproduction  of  "Under  One  Flag."  The  stock 
played  through  the  Conference  date,  reviving  some  of  the 
old  favorite  plays,  and  continued  playing  until  November 
i2th.  On  November  I4th  The  Kellogg-Cary  Concert  Com- 
pany opened  a  three  nights'  engagement  and  sang  to 
big  houses.  Miss  Louise  Kellogg  was  one  of  the  greatest 
singers  of  her  day,  and  Miss  Cary  was  equally  popular,  their 
concerts  being  very  well  patronized  and  highly  appreciated 
by  the  music  lovers  of  Salt  Lake. 

On  November  23rd,  Mrs.  D.  P.  Bowers  and  Mr.  "Jim" 
McCollom  (who  was  Mrs.  Bowers'  second  husband)  opened 
a  week's  engagement  in  Giogametti's  play  of  "Elizabeth," 
which  was  played  for  three  nights,  and  the  week  was  filled 
out  with  "Lady  Audley's  Secret,"  "Married  Life"  and 
"Camille." 

Mrs.  Bowers  was  beyond  question  one  of  the  greatest 
actresses  our  country  had  ever  produced.  She  was  the  first 
American  actress  to  play  the  character  of  Elizabeth.  After 
Ristori,  the  great  Italian  actress,  had  played  this  great  char- 
acter in  a  few  of  the  principal  cities  of  our  country  only,  Mrs. 
Bowers  took  it  up  and  starred  the  country  with  it,  making  a 
great  success. 

Mr.  James  McCollom  was  a  very  efficient  support  to  her 
in  the  characters  of  Essex  in  "Elizabeth,"  Armand  in  "Ca- 
mille" and  Robert  Audley  in  "Lady  Audley's  Secret."  Mrs. 
Bowers  achieved  her  celebrity  as  Mrs.  Bowers  and  never 
changed  her  name  to  McCollom  on  the  stage.  Mrs.  Bowers 
was  supported  by  the  stock  company  in  this  engagement. 

On  December  8th,  J.  K.  Emmett  opened  a  three  nights' 
engagement  in  "Fritz,"  supported  by  the  stock.  On  Decem- 
ber 20-21-22,  The  Lilliputian  Opera  Company.  Christmas 
Day  the  stock  resumed  operations  and  played  through  the 
holidays  and  up  to  the  I3th  of  the  month ;  they  were  tempo- 
rarily retired  again  to  make  room  for  lima  de  Murska  and 
her  concert  company,  who  gave  scenes  from  "II  Trovatore," 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  157 

"Martha,"  "Crispina,"  and  other  operas,  remaining  three 
nights,  1 5th  to  I7th,  inclusive.  De  Mnrski  was  not  only  a 
great  singer  but  a  great  actress  as  well,  and  her  singing  and 
acting  were  received  with  unusual  enthusiasm. 

January  i8th  and  iQth,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  Frayne 
were  the  attraction  in  the  play  of  "Si  Slocum."  Frayne  "was 
the  fellow  who  won  renown"  by  shooting  an  apple  from  his 
wife's  head  (a  la  William  Tell),  only  Frayne  split  the  ap- 
ple with  a  rifle  bullet  instead  of  an  arrow.  After  perform- 
ing this  and  other  dexterous  feats  with  rifle  and  revolver 
many  hundreds  of  times  without  accident,  he  did  it  once  too 
often  ;  he  finally  missed  his  aim  and  shot  his  wife  dead.  How 
confiding  women  are !  Poor  Mrs.  Frayne !  Thank  heaven 
that  did  not  happen  here!  Whether  Frank  ever  found  an- 
other woman  so  confident  of  his  skill  as  to  hold  that  apple 
on  her  head,  we  know  not — and  hope  not.  He  had  a  bull 
dog  that  played  a  star  part  in  the  show  ;  he  may  have  trained 
the  dog  to  hold  the  apple  after  his  wife's  awful  fate.  Sad 
to  relate,  the  stock  company  supported  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frayne 
and  the  bull-dog. 

On  the  22nd  and  23rd,  Mile.  Rentz's  female  minstrels 
gave  Salt  Lake  another  exhibition  of  musical  extravaganza, 
the  chief  attraction  being  the  free  and  lavish  display  of 
beautiful  female  shapes.  A  whole  phalanx  of  voluptuous, 
rotund  forms  encased  in  a  dazzling  and  bewildering  variety 
of  colors — moving  in  splendid  harmony — keeping  time,  time, 
time,  in  a  sort  of  runic  rhyme.  Why  no  wonder  the  bald- 
heads  crowded  into  the  front  rows  and  outrivaled  all  other 
spectators  in  applauding  the  bold  and  beautiful  Amazons. 

On  February  22nd  the  community  having  recovered 
somewhat  from  the  excitement  of  Amazonian  marches,  Rentz 
minstrel  choruses,  and  the  bewildering  effect  of  SO'  much 
female  beauty,  the  present  writer  having  accepted  an  offer  to 
go  to  Denver  to  play  a  star  engagement  at  the  Denver  thea- 
tre, summoned  sufficient  courage  to  take  a  "farewell  benefit." 
The  plays  given  on  this  occasion  were  "Evadne"  and  the 
farce  of  "Nan,  the  Good-for-Nothing."  Soon  after  the 
"benefit"  the  writer  departed  for  Denver,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Harry  Emery,  who  had  played  with  him  in  the  recent 
benefit  bill  and  on  some  previous  occasions ;  his  work 
being  so  satisfactory  as  to  secure  him  an  engagement  in  the 
Denver  company  that  was  to  support  me.  Denver  at  this 
time  had  but  one  theatre ;  it  was  not  nearly  so  large  or  so 
good  a  theatre  as  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre ;  in  fact,  Denver 


158  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

was  not  then  (1878)  as  large  a  city  as  Salt  Lake.  Nick  For- 
rester was  the  manager,  and  his  wife  was  the  "leading  lady" 
of  the  company,  and  insisted  on  playing  all  the  leading  lady 
parts  whether  suited  to  them  or  not.  This  caused  Nick  and 
the  company  a  whole  lot  of  trouble  as  she  was  already  fair, 
fat  and  forty,  and  not  suited  to  many  of  the  parts. 

My  opening  bill  was  "Hamlet,"  and  she  was  my  Ophelia, 
much  to  my  dissatisfaction,  as  there  was  a  juvenile  lady  in 
the  company,  Miss  Baker,  who  should  have  been  cast  for  the 
part ;  but  with  a  woman's  persistent  inconsistency,  in  spite  of 
my  demurre'r,  she  would  be  Ophelia,  and  Miss  Baker  had  to 
do  the  Queen,  which  she  was  quite  as  unsuited  to  as  Mrs. 
Forrester  was  for  Ophelia.  This  was  the  "leading  lady's" 
reward : 

"Not  all  the  artifices  of  the  stage  would  suffice  to  make 
Mrs.  Forrester  look  young  enough  for  Ophelia,  or  Miss 
Baker  old  enough  for  the  Queen." — Rocky  Mountain  News. 

After  "Hamlet,"  "Richelieu"  was  given  (my  first  ap- 
pearance in  the  character),  then  "Jack  Cade,"  Bulwer's  com- 
edy of  "Money"  and  my  own  play,  "Under  One  Flag."  Al- 
ter filling  in  three  more  weeks  with  the  Forresters  on  their 
circuit,  Mr.  Joe  Wallace,  the  comedian  of  Mr.  Forrester's 
company,  made  a  contract  with  me  to  play  me  through  the 
state  of  Colorado,  supported  by  the  Forrester  Stock  Com- 
pany. The  season  was  over  in  Denver,  so  we  went  en  tour. 
Before  the  tour  ended  we  went  to  Leadville  with  teams  from 
Canon  City,  and  gave  the  first  dramatic  performance  ever 
given  in  Leadville.  This  was  in  the  summer  of  '78;  the 
boom  did  not  strike  Leadville  till  '79.  We  were  there  too 
early  to  do  much  in  the  theatrical  way — the  population  was 
not  there.  Emery  and  I  got  back  to  Salt  Lake  about  the 
first  of  August.  The  next  attraction  at  the  Salt  Lake  Thea- 
tre after  "Evadne"  was  the  Union  Square  Theatre  Company 
with  Charley  Thorne  at  the  head  of  it.  On  February  I2th, 
this  company  opened  in  the  Russian  play,  "The  Danichefrs," 
following  it  with  "The  Two  Orphans"  and  "Pink  Dominoes." 
It  was  the  foremost  company  of  the  time,  and  of  course  gave 
great  satisfaction.  On  February  22nd,  Washington's  Birth- 
day was  celebrated  by  a  big  masquerade  ball  in  the  theatre, 
given  by  the  L.  H.  B.  Society.  This  was  a  big  affair,  this 
masquerade.  Hundreds  of  maskers  were  on  the  floor  and 
the  grand  march,  led  by  our  late  lamented  friend  Ned  Wallin, 
and  the  writer,  was  a  very  fine  pageant — and  it  was  alto- 
gether a  very  successful  revel. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  159 

Next  came  Fanny  Louise  Buckingham  and  her  finely 
trained  horse,  James  Mellville.  They  starred  in  conjunction 
for  three  nights  in  the  play  of  "Mazeppa,"  supported  by  the 
stock  company.  This  was  the  last  performance  the  writer  took 
part  in  before  leaving  for  his  Denver  engagement.  There 
was  much  more  satisfaction  in  supporting  Fanny  and  her 
horse  than  there  was  in  supporting  Frayne  and  his  bulldog. 
Fanny  was  a  beautiful  creature,  so  also  was  her  horse  James ; 
and  although  Fanny  couldn't  act  Mazeppa  very  well,  James 
did  his  part  splendidly,  and  Fanny  could  stick  on  him  in  good 
shape,  and  James  carried  her  through  all  right.  'The  follow- 
ing week  we  were  in  Denver  together,  she  playing,  I  rehears- 
ing, so  we  saw  a  good  deal  of  each  other,  and  when  she 
parted  from  us  at  Denver,  she  had  established  a  reputation 
among  us  for  a  "jolly  good  fellow."  She  loved  her  horse 
James  Mellville,  and  she  loved  a  jolly  crowd. 

Next  came  J.  Al.  Sawtelle,  who  had  been  touring  around 
in  Utah  and  Montana,  and  put  his  name  up  for  a  perform- 
ance at  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre.  As  he  had  only  played  there 
one  season  and  had  not  been  there  since  '74,  he  was  almost 
a  stranger.  He  played  "Rosedale"  on  March  2nd.  On 
March  5th,  Denman  Thompson  opened  a  three  nights'  en- 
gagement in  "Joshua  Whitcomb."  The  nth  and  I2th,  Sig- 
nor  Eduardo  Majeroni,  a  very  clever  Italian  actor,  played 
'The  Old  Corporal"  and  "Jealousy." 

On  the  I4th,  Ada  Richmond  opened  for  a  week,  sup- 
ported by  the  stock,  which  also  supported  the  three  preced- 
ing attractions.  On  April  4th,  5th  and  6th,  Haverly's  min- 
strels filled  the  time,  giving  the  Conference  visitors  a  taste 
of  genuine  minstrelsy. 

The  last  nights  of  Conference,  7th  and  8th,  were  filled 
by  the  stock,  who  kept  it  going  until  Oliver  Doud  Byron 
came  in  on  the  I5th  and  i6th  to  crave  their  help  "Across 
the  Continent."  On  the  iQth  Frank  C.  Bangs,  one  of  the 
big  four  in  the  "Julius  Caesar"  production  at  Booth's  theatre, 
gave  a  reading  entertainment.  Why  he  didn't  give  a  play 
I  don't  know,  the  same  old  reliable  stock  was  here  and  had 
just  supported  Oliver  Doud  Byron.  The  only  reason  I  can 
assign  is  that  he  hadn't  time  to  stay. 

April  25th  and  26th  Ada  Gray  appeared  in  "Whose 
Wife?"  and  "Miss  Multon.'" 

May  2nd  Prof.  La  Mar,  leader  of  the  Fort  Douglas 
Band,  gave  a  band  concert.  La  Mar  was  a  very  clever 
musician  and  had  a  fine  band ;  he  deserved  to  be  well  pa- 


160  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

tronized  for  he  was  very  accommodating,  and  volunteered 
the  services  of  his  band  on  numerous  "benefit  occasions." 

On  the  7th  and  8th  Dick  Roberts  in  "Humpty  Dumpty ;" 
1 3th  and  I4th,  Sol  Smith  Russell  and  Rice's  Evangeline 
combination. 

On  the  27th  and  28th  Harrigan  and  Hart  in  "Doyle 
Brothers,"  "Old  Lavender"  and  "Sullivan's  Christmas." 

June  1 4th  and  I5th,  Salisbury's  Troubadores. 

July  1 5th,  Joseph  Jefferson  in  "Rip  Van  Winkle." 

September  loth,  Henry  Ward  Beecher  in  lecture, 
"Wastes  and  Burdens."  This  was  after  the  notorious 
Beecher-Tilton  scandal  and  Henry  had  been  studying  social 
economy.  The  Mormons  didn't  like  Henry  very  much,  but 
he  had  a  big  house. 

September  I2th  and  I3th,  entertainments  were  given  for 
the  benefit  of  the  yellow  fever  sufferers  in  Memphis  and 
vicinity.  These  entertainments  did  not  "pan  out"  very  well, 
and  the  theatre  managers  decided  to  get  all  the  dramatic  tal- 
ent they  could  get  to  volunteer  and  give  a  popular  play,  in 
hopes  to  materially  increase  the  charity  fund.  The  "School 
for  Scandal"  was  selected  and  given  with  a  pretty  strong 
cast,  embracing  Miss  Colebrook  as  Lady  Teazle,  David  Mc- 
Kenzie  as  Sir  Peter,  John  T.  Caine  as  Charles  Surface,  John 
S.  Lindsay  as  Joseph  Surface.  Phil  Margetts  and  John  C. 
Graham  were  in  the  cast,  and  a  number  of  others,  I.  cannot 
remember.  The  play  was  given  on  September  i6th,  and 
netted  a  very  tidy  sum  for  the  sufferers.  "  • 

On  the  1 8th,  iQth  and  2Oth,  Calender's  Georgia  min- 
strels held  the  boards,  and  business  was  light.  The  writer 
and  Harry  Emery  had  but  recently  returned  from  their  Colo- 
rado tour,  and  both  were  anxious  to  be  doing  something,  so 
I  got  a  cast  together  and  put  on  "Richelieu,"  which  I  had 
recently  played  in  Denver,  and  received  flattering  notices  for, 
from  the  press  of  that  city.  I  had  given  away  my  first  ap- 
pearance for  the  "benefit"  to  the  yellow  fever  sufferers,  so 
there  was  no  other  attraction  than  to  see  me  in  a  new  part 
and  that  did  not  prove  sufficient  to  save  me  from  disaster. 
I  had  a  losing  game  of  it,  the  receipts  being  some  $75  less 
than  the  expenses  of  the  performance.  This  was  the  only 
time  I  ever  failed  to  make  something  when  I  had  rented 
the  theatre  and  taken  chances,  which  was  quite  often.  This 
performance,  given  on  the  25th  of  September,  virtually  closed 
the  season  of  "77  and  '78. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  161 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

SEASONS  OF  '78-'79  AND  '8o-'82. 

The  season  of  '78  and  '79  was  opened  on  October  4th  by 
Haverly's  minstrels,  who  filled  the  night  of  the  5th  also,  when 
the  stock  company  stepped  to  the  front  once  more,  and  filled 
out  the  remainder  of  the  Conference  dates  with  the  "Lan- 
cashire Lass"  and  the  "Hidden  Hand."  On  the  23rd  Susie 
Spencer  was  a  beneficiary,  playing  "The  Little  Rebel." 
Susie's  life  was  not  without  a  spice  of  romance,  and  ,its 
chapter  of  sorrow.  Susie  Spencer  was  a  very  pretty  little 
girl  and  talented ;  the  managers  found  her  very  useful  in 
parts  where  her  petite  stature  was  suited  to  the  character, 
and  such  occasions  were  not  inefrequent.  Miss  Spencer 
was  progressing  nicely  in  her  art  and  had  already  become  a 
favorite  with  the  patrons  of  the  drama,  when  she  met  her 
fate  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Ed  Marden.  Marden  was  one  of 
the  Cogswell  party  who  came  from  California  by  way  of 
Southern  Utah,  and  waiting  on  Brigham  Young,  informed 
him  they  had  received  a  revelation  (via  the  Planchette  route) 
instructing  them  to  come  to  Salt  Lake  and  join  the  Mormon 
Church,  as  it  was  the  only  true  and  authorized  church.  The 
party  were  duly  baptized  and  confirmed  into  the  Church,  and 
at  once  installed  as  members  of  the  stock  company.  Marden 
became  on  very  short  acquaintance  infatuated  with  the  pretty 
Susie  and  laid  siege  to  her  young  and  guileless  heart  with 
that  adroitness  and  dexterity  which  come  from  much  ex- 
perience, with  the  result  that  Susie  soon  became  Mrs.  Mar- 
den. Marden  was  a  member  of  the  stock  here  all  during  the 
"Jimmy"  Harris  regime.  He  and  "Jimmy"  were  fast  friends, 
they  both  came  to  Utah  Gentiles,  joined  the  Church  and 
married  Mormon  girls.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Harris 
management  in  '77,  Marden  drifted  off  and  left  his  Susie 
a  heart-broken  little  woman.  He  was  through  with  Utah, 
and  through  with  the  Mormon  Church,  and  through  with 
his  little  Mormon  wife,  and  cast  them  all  aside  as  he  would 
a  worn-out  suit.  He  never  came  back,  and  Susie,  after  a  year 
or  two  of  repining,  found  consolation  in  the  affections  of  a 
better  man.  She  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Rice,  a  well-to-do 
11 


162  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

banker  of  the  mining  town  of  Frisco,  Utah,  where  she  lived 
happily  in  her  new  alliance  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  she 
passed  away  from  earth,  still  young  in  years. 

The  next  stellar  attraction  was  Mrs.  Scott  Siddons,  a 
niece  of  the  great  Sarah  Siddons,  who  appeared  on  Novem- 
ber 22nd  in  a  dramatic  recital ;  with  what  success  the  writer 
cannot  tell,  as  he  was  away  again  at  this  time.  This  lady 
had  just  closed  a  week's  engagement  at  Portland,  Oregon, 
when  I  arrived  there.  I  met  her  at  the  hotel  before  her  de- 
parture, and  she  impressed  me  as  being  an  extraordinary 
woman  and  a  brilliant  actress. 

December  25th,  Nat  Goodwin  and  Eliza  Weatherby 
opened  a  four  nights'  engagement  in  "Hobbies ;"  they  gave 
on  the  following  evenings  "Under  the  Rose"  and  "Cruets." 
This  was  Goodwin's  first  engagement  in  Salt  Lake. 

On  January  loth  and  nth,  1879,  Alice  Gates'  Comic 
Opera  Company  played  to  exceptionally  large  houses. 

Barney  Macauley  in  "The  Messenger  from  Jarvis  Sta- 
tion" was  the  next  stellar  attraction. 

There  was  a  dearth  of  star  attractions  along  about  this 
time  and  the  stock  company  had  plenty  of  time  to  fill  in,  but  it 
had  become  so  depleted  as  to  be  unable  to  keep  up  the  inter- 
est for  more  than  two  or  three  nights  at  a  time. 

On  May  2nd,  "Buffalo  Bill,"  Col.  Wm.  F.  Cody,  gave 
an  exhibition,  assisted  by  the  stock  company.  -  He  called  it 
"A  Knight  of  the  Plains."  On  May  8th,  Annie  Adams  (Mrs. 
Kiskadden)  and  her  daughter  Maude,  who  were  in  Salt 
Lake  on  a  visit,  created  some  interest  in  her  reappearance 
here,  and  that  of  Maude  who  on  this  occasion  played  her 
first  speaking  part  in  Salt  Lake.  Miss  Adams  assisted  by 
the  stock  (what  remained  of  it)  and  some  amateurs,  gave 
on  the  8fh,  "A  Woman  of  the  People."  This  was  the  old 
French  play  of  "Madeline,  the  Belle  of  the  Faubourg," 
which  Julia  Dean  had  played  some  years  before.  Like  many 
another  good  play  since,  it  was  made  to  do  double  duty  by  ap- 
pearing under  a  new  title.  For  the  second  night's  bill,  the 
comedy  of  "Stepmother"  and  the  farce  of  "Little  Susie" 
were  given.  In  the  farce  Little  Maude  played  the  name 
part,  "Little  Susie."  Maude  was  then  six  years  and  six 
months  old,  and  had  already  played  several  parts  in  San 
Francisco,  the  most  notable  one,  Little  Adrienne  in  "A  Cele- 
brated Case,"  which  she  played  in  the  Baldwin  production 
of  the  play,  and  afterwards  in  Portland  with  John  Maguire's 
production  of  it,  for  which  she  and  her  mother  were  espe- 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        163 

cially  engaged.  Afterwards  with  the  Maguire  company 
en  tour  through  Oregon  and  Washington,  when  "Little 
Maude"  was  featured  in  "The  Case"  and  also  in  "Ten  Nights 
in  a  Bar  Room,"  her  mother  and  the  writer  playing  the  lead- 
ing roles  in  these  plays.  This  second  bill  was  repeated  on 
the  loth  inst,  the  probability  being  that  Maude  had  caught 
the  public  favor  at  that  early  day. 

The  next  attraction  of  note  was  Lawrence  Barrett,  who 
opened  on  July  8th  (midsummer  nights — no  dream)  for  four 
nights,  opening  play  "Richelieu"  followed  by  "Hamlet,"  "A 
New  Play"  and  "Julius  Caesar."  How  the  fastidious  and  ex- 
acting Barrett  managed  to  cast  these  great  plays  here  has 
never  been  explained  to  me.  He  must  have  carried  his  prin- 
cipal support  with  him. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  Miss  Annie  Adams  revived 
"The  Two  Orphans"  with  a  complete  cast  of  amateurs,  ex- 
cepting herself  and  Jimmy  Harris.  The  cast  included  Mr. 
Laron  Cummings  as  the  Chevalier,  Heber  M.  Wells  as  the 
Doctor,  Orson  Whitney  as  Jacques,  John  D.  Spencer  as 
Pierre,  John  T.  White  as  Picard,  W.  T.  "Harris  played  Fro- 
chard,  which  fact  certainly  denoted  a  great  paucity  of  female 
talent  here  about  that  time.  Annie  Adams  played  Louise  and 
Delia  Clawson,  Heriette,  which  is  as  much  of  the  cast  as  we 
can  gather  from  Miss  Adams'  own  account  of  this  perform- 
ance. So  successful  was  the  performance  as  a  whole  and  so 
meritorious  the  acting  of  the  numerous  debutants  on 
this  occasion  that  Mr.  Bud  Whitney  who  was  man- 
aging the  business  end  of  the  affair,  proposed  the 
organization  of  a  "Home  Club,"  which  should 
comprise  all  of  the  amateurs  who  had  taken  part  in  "The 
Two  Orphans."  The  proposition  was  readily  adopted  by 
those  concerned,  and  out  of  this  sprang  "The  Home  Dra- 
matic Club."  The  time  was  most  opportune,  for  there  was  a 
dearth  of  dramatic  attractions  at  the  time ;  the  old  stock 
had  dwindled  until  there  were  but  a  few  of  its  members  left 
in  Salt  Lake,  and  some  new  blood  and  talent  was  needed  to 
give  renewed  interest  to  home  productions.  "The  Home  Dra- 
matic Club,"  with  great  prudence  and  foresight,  secured  the 
ensuing  April  Conference  dates  on  which  to  make  their  ini- 
tial bow  to  the  Utah  public.  It  was  a  good  long  time  to  wait 
but  they  were  sure  of  big  results  in  a  financial  way,  and  it 
gave  them  plenty  of  time  in  which  to  perfect  themselves  in 
their  opening  play,  which  was  "The  Romance  of  a  Poor 
Young  Man."  It  was  a  good  selection,  well  suited  to  the 


164  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

young  people,  and  scored  a  success ;  only  the  older  people  in 
the  community  could  remember  George  Pauncefort  opening 
in  the  same  play  in  1864,  and  scoring  a  great  triumph.  The 
club  had  large  and  friendly  audiences  and  their  introductory 
play  was  pronounced  a  genuine  success,  both  artistically  and 
financially.  It  could  not  be  otherwise  than  a  good  paying 
propostion,  as  Conference  nights  are  always  a  harvest  time 
for  the  theatre.  So  well  encouraged  were  they  that  the  club 
continued  in  the  business  of  playing  occasionally,  whenever 
they  could  secure  favorable  dates,  such  as  Conferences  and 
other  holiday  times,  for  a  number  of  years.  "The  Home 
Dramatic  Club"  averaged  about  three  or  four  plays  a  year 
during  their  career  of  about  ten  years.  The  club  being  more 
of  a  society  affair  than  a  professional  theatre  company,  they 
picked  their  times  and  opportune  ones,  and  playing  so  seldom 
they  never  were  subjected  to  the  tasks  in  study  and  rehear- 
sals and  dramatic  work  which  characterized  the  busy  years 
of  the  old  stock  company.  It  was  a  talented  company,  how- 
ever, and  no  doubt  could  have  made  good  under  different 
and  more  exacting  conditions. 

In  March,  1881,  the  writer  was  back  in  Salt  Lake  after 
a  two  years'  absence,  principally  in  Portland  and  San  Fran- 
cisco. On  my  return  there  was  nothing  doing  in  the  theatri- 
cal line.  The  "club"  had  been  organized  nearly  a  year,  yet 
had  given  only  a  very  few  plays.  There  was  a  dearth  of 
theatricals,  and  the  writer  with  the  acquiescence  and  as- 
sistance of  Mr.  Clawson,  who  was  again  manager  of  the 
theatre,  got  up  occasional  performances  with  such  assistance 
as  he  could  procure.  The  first  of  these  was  "A  Celebrated 
Case,"  in  which  he  had  the  assistance  of  Manager  Clawson's 
daughters,  Miss  Edith  Clawson  and  Mrs.  Ardelle  Cummings. 
Other  performances  were  given  in  connection  with  David 
McKenzie,  Philip  Margetts  and  John  C.  Graham,  with  such 
support  as  we  could  muster  from  the  depleted  ranks  of  the 
old  stock,  and  what  new  aspirants  were  in  the  field  for  dra- 
matic honors.  The  "gallery  gods"  honored  the  three  gentle- 
men and  myself  with  the  somewhat  flattering  appellation  of 
the  big  four,  the  same  title  the  New  Yorkers  bestowed  on 
Booth,  Barrett,  Davenport  and  Bangs  when  these  four  stars 
formed  the  great  constellation  in  the  play  of  "Julius  Caesar." 
These  performances,  however,  like  those  of  "The  Home 
Dramatic,"  were  few  and  far  between,  and  to  a  person  de- 
pending on  acting  for  a  livelihood,  did  not  prove  very  remun- 
erative. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.         165 

About  this  time  another  project  which  interested  the 
writer  hove  into  view.  Dr.  D.  Banks  McKenzie,  a  temper- 
ance lecturer  and  reformer,  had  succeeded  after  a  consider- 
able effort  in  organizing  a  temperance  club  in  Salt  Lake 
City  (a  prodigious  task  to  accomplish  at  that  time).  He 
had  succeeded  in  raising  a  fund  of  some  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars in  contributions  towards  the  erection  of  a  first-class  lec- 
ture hall,  with  library,  and  various  other  nice  accommoda- 
tions for  the  society.  The  Walkers  Brothers  had  contributed 
a  building  site  where  the  Atlas  block  now  stands,  50x100 
feet.  This  was  put  in  at  $13,000,  making  nearly  one-half 
of  the  $30,000  contributed.  On  being  informed  by  one  of  the 
Walker  Brothers  of  what  was  projected,  the  writer  with 
some  self-interest  suggested  that  inasmuch  as  they  were 
going  to  put  up  a  building  of  such  size  and  cost,  that  they 
might  just  as  well  make  it  a  little  larger,  and  make  a  theatre 
of  it ;  that  a  theatre  would  answer  all  the  purposes  of  the 
proposed  hall,  and  often  rent  when  the  hall  would  not.  The 
idea  grew  with  them,  and  the  Walker  Grand  Opera  House 
was  the  result.  It  occupied  a  year  in  building.  It  was  opened 
on  June  5th,  1882,  with  a  vocal  and  instrumental  concert, 
with  Prof.  George  Careless  as  conductor.  As  a  matter  of 
historical  interest  and  to  show  the  musical  status  of  Salt 
Lake  at  that  time,  a  copy  of  the  opening  program  is  here 
appended. 

OPENING  OF  THE 
WALKER  GRAND  OPERA  HOUSE. 

Monday  Evening,  June  5th,  1882. 

Lessee    D.   Banks   McKenzie 

Manager   John  S.  Lindsay 

PROGRAM. 

1.  Overture — " William  Tell" Rossini 

2.  Quartette— "The  Night  Before  the  Battle" White 

Misses  Olsen  and  Richards,  Messrs.  Whitney 
and  Spencer. 

3.  Flute  Solo — "Concert  Polka"  Rudolph 

Mr.  George  Hedger. 

4.  Aria — II  Profeta    Meyerbeer 

Mrs.  J.  Leviburg. 

5.  Selection  Favorite Donozetti 

Orchestra. 


166  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

INTERMISSION. 

6.  Overture — Pique  Dame   Suppe 

7.  Aria — E.  Puritane Belline 

Mr.  Robert  Gorlinske. 

8.  Piano  Solo — Trovatore Gottschalk 

Mrs.  Helen  Wells. 

9.  Song— "My  Own  Dearest  Child" Abt 

Mrs.  George  Careless. 

10.     Selection 

Croxall's  Silver  Band. 

Conductor  Prof.  George  Careless 

Thursday,  June  8th — For  Three  Nights.  Louis  Aid- 
rich  Company  in  his  very  successful  play,  "MY  PART- 
NER." Superb  Star  Company. 

In  the  spring  of  '82,  when  the  Walker  was  approaching 
completion,  Dr.  McKenzie  hied  him  to  New  York  to  secure 
attractions  for  the  new  theatre,  for  the  erstwhile  temperance 
lecturer  had  developed  into  the  sole  lessee  and  manager  of  a 
$100,000  theatre.  He  had  already  chosen  me  to  attend  to  the 
local  management,  for  which  I  was  to  have  5  per  cent  of  the 
gross  proceeds  of  everything  we  played  there,  with  the  privi- 
lege of  getting  up  local  performances  in  the  interims.  I  had 
worked  eleven  months,  superintending  the  construction  of 
the  building  and  was  quite  in  favor.  "Doc"  was  very  suc- 
cessful in  securing  attractions,  his  somewhat  extravagant  and 
florid  descriptions  of  the  Walker  Grand,  as  they  chose  to 
christen  it,  and  its  superiority  to  the  old  theatre,  caught  the 
agents  and  managers,  and  he  secured  so  many  of  the  at- 
tractions going  to  the  coast  the  ensuing  season  that  he  vir- 
tually had  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  out  of  business. 

The  first  dramatic  performance  given  in  the  \Valker 
was  the  Louis  Aldrich  Company  in  "My  Partner."  The 
house  was  well  filled  but  not  crowded ;  there  was  a  very 
strong  prejudice  against  the  Walker  among  the  Mormon 
part  of  the  community,  and  a  malicious  report  to  the  effect 
that  the  galleries  were  not  safe  was  put  in  circulation  with  a 
view  to  injure  the  new  theatre.  Such  mischievous  whisper- 
ings, however,  only  had  a  temporary  effect. 

One  of  the  earliest  attractions  at  "The  Walker"  was 
Haverly's  minstrels,  and  the  house  was  crowded  to  its  ut- 
most capacity ;  as  the  galleries  did  not  give  way  on  that  occa- 
sion, the  reports  which  had  been  so<  industriously  circulated 
were  -seen  to  be  "a  weak  invention  of  the  enemv." 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        167 

The  new  house  continued  to  get  the  attractions  to  such 
an  extent,  that  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  was  virtually  out  of 
the  swim.  This  was  accomplished  by  Dr.  McKenzie  putting 
The  Walker  under  the  direction  of  Jack  Haverly.  Haverly 
at  the  time  was  one  of  the  foremost  managers  of  the  coun- 
try. He  controlled  more  companies  and  theatres  than  any 
one  in  the  field  of  amusement ;  so  he  booked  everything 
in  his  control  at  The  Walker,  and  the  house  during  his 
regime  was  called  Haverly's  Walker  Grand  Opera  House. 
"What's  in  a  name  ?"  In  theatrical  business  much ;  it  is 
everything.  So  serious  indeed  was  the  situation  for  the  Salt 
Lake  theatre  that  Mr.  David  McKenzie,  who  was  at  this 
time  the  acting  manager  of  the  house,  found  it  necessary  to 
go  to  San  Francisco  and  have  a  business  interview  with  Mr. 
Fred  Bert,  who  was  Haverly's  San  Francisco  manager. 

The  result  of  his  visit  was  an  agreement  on  the  part  of 
Haverly  to  play  his  attractions  alternately  between  the  two 
theatres,  thus  giving  the  Salt  Lake  theatre  one-half  of  their 
Salt  Lake  bookings.  In  the  agreement  it  was  stipulated  that 
the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  must  also  float  the  Haverly  flag,  and 
while  this  contract  lasted  the  old  house  was  called  "Haverly's 
Salt  Lake  Theatre."  Here  was  an  interesting  situation  ;  both 
theatres  flying  the  Haverly  flag.  Haverly's  name  at  the 
head  of  every  bill  and  program.  It  was  not  at  all  pleasing 
to  the  Mormon  people  to  have  their  theatre,  in  which  they 
took  so  much  pride,  pass  under  the  direction  and  manage- 
ment of  a  Gentile  manager.  Many  of  them  didn't  know  but 
what  Haverly  had  bought  it.  The  Walker  Brothers  did  not 
relish  the  idea  either  of  their  house  being  called  Haverly's ; 
but  such  were  the  exigencies  of  the  theatrical  business. 
To  the  Walker  it  was  a  great  advantage,  as  without  Hav- 
erly's prestige  the  new  house  would  have  had  a  hard  time  in 
getting  first-class  attractions. 

These  circumstances  go  to  show  what  an  immense  in- 
fluence Jack  Haverly  wielded  in  the  theatrical  business  of  this 
country  at  that  time.  He  was  almost  as  potent  then  as  Klaw 
&  Erlanger  of  the  syndicate  are  today.  These  conditions 
did  not  last  very  long,  as  the  managers  and  agents  came  to 
learn  that  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre  was  the  only  one  that  the 
Mormon  people  would  patronize,  and  they  being  so  largely 
in  a  majority  of  the  theatre-goers,  the  older  theatre  gradu- 
ally won  back  the  great  bulk  of  the  traveling  combinations, 
and  the  Haverly  agreement  having  expired,  his  flag  was 
hauled  down,  much  to  the  relief  of  a  great  many,  to  whom 


168  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

it  had  always  seemed  a  reproach  to  have  Brigham  Young's 
Theatre  called  Haverly's.  Jack  Haverly  had  too  many  irons 
in  the  fire ;  his  numerous  theatrical  enterprises  were  managed 
by  a  corps  of  lieutenants,  too  numerous  for  Mr.  Haverly  to 
keep  in  line.  Some  of  them  proved  shrewder,  more  adroit, 
and  less  principled  than  their  general.  He  trusted  them  too 
implicitly,  and  this  was  his  undoing.  Some  of  them  managed 
his  enterprises  into  their  own  hands,  while  he  was  giving  his 
personal  attention  very  largely  to  his  mining  interests. 
These,  too,  turned  out  disastrously,  and  Haverly's  star, 
which  had  been  so  prominent  and  bright  in  the  theatrical 
firmament,  began  to  wane  and  in  a  very  few  years  was  to- 
tally eclipsed.  After  all  his  great  enterprises,  he  became  a 
bankrupt  in  1898,  and  he  died  poor  in  1901  in  a  Salt  Lake 
Hospital.  He  was  reduced  in  health  and  circumstances  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  be  unable  during  the  last  year  of  his 
life  to  manage  even  a  minstrel  company,  and  others  paid 
him  for  the  use  of  his  name. 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        169 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Retrospectively  considered,  the  building  of  the  Walker 
Opera  House  was  premature.  There  was  one  good  theatre 
here,  and  not  half  enough  of  business  for  that  one ;  but  it 
served  to  enliven  things  for  a  little  while,  and  did  its  share 
toward  liberalizing  and  metropolitanizing  Salt  Lake  City. 
The  Walker  had  a  brief  and  rather  checkered  career ;  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire  on  July  4th,  1891,  after  a  performance  of 
"Held  by  the  Enemy."  The  audience  were  all  home  and 
the  company  had  left  the  theatre ;  the  stage  hands  were  low- 
ering a  drop,  when  a  gust  of  wind  blew  open  the  front 
door  and  sent  the  drop  sailing  against  a  gas  jet ;  in  a  moment 
it  was  all  ablaze.  The  stage  hands  lost  their  heads  and  made 
for  the  exit,  when  a  little  presence  of  mind  would  have 
saved  the  building.  The  house,  especially  the  stage,  was 
well  provided  with  water  plugs  and  hose,  and  it  seems  in- 
credible that  any  effort  was  made  to  extinguish  the  fire. 

Mr.  Will  Burgess  was  manager  at  the  time  it  burned 
down.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  two  other  fine  theatres 
burned  under  this  same  gentleman's  management  within  a 
few  years  afterward.  The  Farnham  Street  Theatre  of 
Omaha,  where  a  number  of  lives  were  lost,  and  The  Audi- 
torium of  Kansas  City.  Notwithstanding  these  very  serious 
drawbacks,  Mr.  Burgess  is  one  of  the  wealthy  managers  of 
the  West  today. 

After  the  burning  of  "The  Walker,"  Mal- 
loy's  Livery  Stable,  directly  opposite  the  Walker,  was  con- 
verted into  a  theatre,  when  it  was  decided  to  build  an  office 
block  on  the  ruins  of  the  Walker.  For  some  time  it  was 
known  as  "Wonderland,"  and  was  a  two  storied  show ;  the 
upper  story  being  a  sort  of  curiosity  shop — or  Wonderland 
with  specialties  and  the  lower  story  having  a  small  stage  was 
devoted  to  vaudeville,  and  short  plays.  Afterwards  the  two 
stories  were  thrown  into  one  room,  and  converted  into  a 
theatre  with  capacity  for  about  six  hundred  people.  It  was 
called  the  Lyceum.  Here  a  stock  company  was  run  for  about 
a  year  with  varying  fortune.  Some  actors  who  have  since 
won  high  places  in  their  professions  were  members  of  this 


170  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

stock,  notably  Charles  Richman,  Ed  Hayes,  Victory  Bate- 
man. 

The  Lyceum  soon  went  into  a  decline  ;  it  struggled  along 
for  a  few  years  against  adverse  fortune  and  finally  yielded 
up  the  ghost.  It  was  transformed  into  a  handsome  saloon 
and  wholesale  liquor  house,  from  which  a  greater  revenue 
is  derived  than  it  yielded  as  a  theatre.  Before  the  Lyceum 
went  out  of  commission  as  a  theatre  another  theatrical  ven- 
ture was  launched.  This  was  the  Grand.  This  theatre  was 
built  (or  partly  so)  by  Mr.  Frank  Maltese  and  Mr.  "Brig" 
Pyper.  The  story  of  how  they  projected,  planned  and  built 
this  theatre  is  told  as  follows :  "Brig"  and  "Frank"  made  a 
winning  in  a  "policy  drawing."  They  held  between  them  a 
one-fourth  interest  in  a  fifty-dollar  policy  ticket.  In  a  sporty 
manner  they  bantered  each  other  as  to  what  they  should 
do  with  their  big  winning  of  $12.50.  One  was  in  favor  of 
reinvesting  it  in  the  next  policy  drawing,  the  other  for  trying 
their  luck  at  the  "faro-bank."  Finally,  in  a  lurid  flash  of 
imagination  one  (which  one  we  don't  remember,  but  we  be- 
lieve it  was  Frank),  exclaimed :  "Let's  build  an  Opera  House 
with  it."  The  idea  was  so  absurd,  they  had  a  good  laugh 
over  it ;  but  the  thought  took  hold  of  them,  and  one  of 
them  suggested,  "Let's  figure  up  and  see  how  much  more  it 
will  take."  So  on  the  back  of  tne  policy  ticket  they  figured 
up  roughly  what  it  would  take  in  addition  to  their  winnings 
to  build  "The  Grand."  The  result  was  no  doubt  staggering ; 
but  undismayed  they  went  about  to  see  how  they  could  ac- 
complish such  a  herculean  task.  They  owned  some  property, 
or  their  folks  did,  and  this  they  decided  to  put  in  jeopardy 
in  order  to  carry  out  their  designs.  They  secured  the  build- 
ing site,  and  got  the  walls  up  and  the  roof  on — and  then 
they  were  stuck.  They  had  reached  the  end  of  their  finan- 
cial tether,  and  were  forced  to  stop  until  they  could  make 
some  new  deal  by  which  to  complete  the  building.  Mr.  Alec 
Rogers  was  the  party  who  now  came  to  the  front  and  put  up 
some  $16,000  to  complete  the  building.  We  don't  know  just 
how  much  interest  the  boys  Maltese  and  Pyper  had  remain- 
ing in  it  when  the  theatre  was  completed,  but  we  opine  it  was 
little  if  any.  The  Grand  opened  with  the  house  in  the  pos- 
session of  Alex.  Rogers  and  sons,  and  John  Rogers  was  in- 
stalled as  the  manager.  He  secured  a  very  good  company 
for  the  opening,  announcing  a  season  of  stock  performances. 
The  house  was  opened  on  Christmas  Eve,  December  24th, 
1894.  The  personnel  of  the  company  was  as  follows:  Jane 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  171 

Kennark,  Blanche  Bates,  Madge  Carr  Cook,  Jean  Coy,  How- 
ard Kyle,  Tim  Frawley,  Charles  King,  Harry  Corson  Clarke, 
H.  D.  Blackmore,  Fred  Fjaders,  Mr.  Mannery.  The  open- 
ing play  was  "Moths."  It  was  a  good  performance,  and  the 
company  made  a  very  favorable  impression.  The  axiom  that 
"A  new  broom  sweeps  well"  had  a  number  of  exemplifica- 
tions in  this  theatre.  It  was  so  with  this  first  company,  not- 
withstanding it  was  a  talented  and  capable  one.  After  it 
had  been  seen  in  a  few  plays,  and  the  novelty  of  the  new 
house,  miscalled  "The  Grand,"  was  over,  business  began  to 
drop  off  and  it  was  more  than  the  manager  could  do  to  keep 
ahead  with  the  expensive  company  he  had.  | 

Why  this  theatre  was  called  "The  Grand"  we  were 
never  able  to  divine,  as  it  was  at  the  opening  positively  se- 
vere in  its  plainness.  There  is  a  great  tendency  in  our  coun- 
try to  buncombe,  aside  from  the  genuine  patriotism  that 
exists  in  it ;  this  tendency  leads  many  of  our  fellow  citizens 
into  silly  extravagances,  especially  is  this  noticeable  in  the 
naming  of  theatres,  hotels  and  restaurants  ;  more  particularly 
is  this  the  case  in  the  small  towns.  A  man  opens  a  little 
restaurant  scarcely  big  enough  to  accommodate  a  dozen  per- 
sons, and  everything  in  it  of  the  plainest  and  commonest 
kind,  and  he  dubs  it  the  "Palace"  restaurant.  "Opera  House" 
is  a  much  abused  appellation.  Nearly  every  insignificant, 
dingy,  dismal,  inconvenient,  and  homely  theatre  and  hall 
throughout  the  land  is  dubbed  Opera  House.  It  is  a  dreadful 
misnomer — inconsistent  and  absurd  in  three-fourths  of  the 
houses  to  which  it  is  applied.  "The  Theatre"  is  dignified 
enough  and  much  more  consistent  and  suitable.  "The  Grand" 
during  the  ten  years  of  its  existence  has  had  a  checkered 
career.  We  doubt  if  any  of  its  half  dozen  different  managers 
have  made  it  pay.  The  first  company,  as  already  stated,  was 
found  to  be  too  expensive,  the  business  would  not  sustain  the 
heavy  salary  list,  not  only  was  the  salary  list  large,  but  Mr. 
Frawley  made  a  demand  for  a  percentage  of  the  receipts  in 
addition.  This  sprung  a  disagreement,  and  the  company 
was  after  about  four  or  five  weeks  superseded  by  another 
less  expensive.  The  Rogers  management  was  able,  liberal 
and  intent  on  giving  the  public  satisfaction.  After  a  fair 
trial  of  the  business,  lasting  three  years,  they  disposed  of  the 
house  on  a  lease  to  Mr.  Garvey  of  pageantry  fame,  who  spent 
a  few  hundred  he  had  made  on  the  "Pioneer  Carnival"  on 
the  house  in  the  way  of  improvements,  and  then  called  it 
"The  New  Grand."  Ad  captandiun  vulgas. 


172  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

Garvey's  reign  was  brief  and  unprofitable.  Then  Mr. 
Martin  Mulvey  took  a  swing  at  it,  and  made  things  lively  for 
two  seasons,  but  the  supposition  is  that  he  did  not  make 
money  with  it  or  he  would  not  have  given  up  the  lease.  The 
last  management,  Messrs.  Jones  and  Hammer,  have  seem- 
ingly had  the  most  prosperous  time  with  the  house ;  they  have 
profited  by  the  experience  of  their  predecessors,  and  yet  it  ap- 
pears they  have  not  realized  their  expectations,  and  so  have 
re-leased  the  house  to  Denver  parties. 

Having  brought  the  history  of  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre 
through  the  first  twenty  years  of  its  existence  up^to  the  time 
when  the  stock  company  was  altogether  disbanded,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  combination  system  had  come  so  fully  into 
vogue  as  to  displace  the  stock  system  all  over  the  country,  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  give 'its  history  after  this  time,  as  my 
connection  with  it  had  altogether  ceased.  I  shall  only  add 
that  for  the  past  twenty-three  years  it  has  kept  the  even  tenor 
of  its  way,  under  able  managers  (notably  Mr.  Charles  R. 
Burton  and  later  George  Pyper),  playing  the  leading  attrac- 
tions of  the  country  to  a  splendid  patronage,  keeping  up  the 
reputation  of  Salt  Lake  as  "the  best  show  town  of  its  popu- 
lation in  the  world." 

More  than  twenty  years  ago  several  attempts  were  made 
to  establish  a  vaudeville  theatre  in  this  city ;  two  houses  were 
built  at  different  times  for  the  purpose,  but  they  were  short- 
lived, dying  out  for  lack  of  patronage.  Within  the  last  three 
years,  however,  the  city's  population  having  greatly  in- 
creased, no  less  than  four  have  been  started  here,  two  of 
which  survive  and  seem  to  be  doing  well. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  drama  in  Utah,  several  of 
the  towns  besides  Salt  Lake  had  very  talented  companies. 
Provo,  Springville,  Ogden,  Brigham  City,  and  St.  George 
each  had  fairly  good  theatres  and  many  very  capable  play- 
ers. It  is  somewhat  remarkable,  however,  that  out  of  the 
hundreds  of  persons  who  have  "gone  on  the  stage"  in  Utah, 
so  few  have  drifted  into  the  profession  and  left  their  homes 
to  follow  it ;  the  percentage  is  very  small.  Miss  Sarah  Alex- 
ander was  the  first  to  drift  off,  and  although  she  has  not 
made  much  stir  on  the  stage  herself,  she  has  chaperoned 
her  niece  Miss  Lisle  Leigh  to  fine  success.  Mr.  James  M. 
Hardie  was  the  next  to  break  away ;  then  Miss  Anne  Adams, 
Mr.  Logan  Paul  and  the  writer  complete  the  list  so  far  as 
the  Salt  Lake  Stock  Company  is  concerned.  Later  Miss  Ada 
Dwyer  and  Mr.  DeWitt  Jennings.  This  is  accounted  for  by 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 


173 


the  fact  that,  much  as  the  Mormons  love  the  theatre,  they 
love  their  homes  and  their  religion  better.  The  theatre  is  a 
pleasant  pastime  with  them,  but  the  staying  at  home  and 
building  up  of  their  kingdom  is  a  religious  duty,  and  unless 
they  are  ''called  on  a  mission,"  they  prefer  to  stay  with  home 
and  Church. 


174  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

CONCLUSION. 

A  few  reflections  on  the  theatre  and  its  work  in  conclud- 
ing this  little  history  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

The  cultivation  and  progress  of  the  drama  in  connection 
with  its  kindred  arts,  poesy  and  painting,  marks  the  progress 
of  civilization,  culture  and  refinement  at  any  given  period  in 
any  country.  Without  the  aid  of  the  theatre  and  the  actors' 
art,  the  great  majority  of  mankind  would  remain  in  ignor- 
ance as  to  the  works  of  the  most  gifted  writers ;  without 
those  great  reflectors  of  human  thought,  how  many  thousands 
there  have  been  and  are  who  never  would  have  heard  or 
read  the  plays  of  Shakespeare  and  other  writers  of  genius, 
but  who,  by  the  assistance  of  the  actor's  delineations,  have 
become  familiar  with  the  most  sublime  and  beautiful 
thoughts  and  sentiments  that  adorn  our  language.  I  make 
mention  particularly  of  Shakespeare's  plays,  as  they  are  be- 
yond all  question  the  greatest  and  grandest  compositions  ever 
written.  Among  the  thousands  of  plays  that  have  been  writ- 
ten during  and  since  the  great  dramatic  renaissance  of 
Elizabeth's  reign,  they  still  stand  out  incomparable  as  models 
par  excellence  of  dramatic  composition,  challenging  competi- 
tion, and  as  yet  unrivaled  after  a  lapse  of  more  than  three 
centuries. 

That  the  stage  is  a  great  factor  in  our  modern  civiliza- 
tion, for  the  education  of  the  people,  no  reading,  reflecting 
person  would  attempt  to  deny.  It  is  true  that  some  perni- 
cious things  occasionally  creep  in  that  would  be  better  sup- 
pressed, but  they  are  rare  and  exceptional.  The  great  bulk 
of  dramatic  entertainment  is  uplifting  in  its  tendencies.  The 
infinite  variety  of  plays  presented,  showing  human  life  in 
all  conditions,  and  under  every  variety  of  circumstances,  can 
not  be  otherwise  than  educational  in  effect  upon  those  who 
witness  them.  However  crude  or  devoid  of  literary  merit  a 
play  may  be,  there  seldom  is  one,  however  bald  in  plot  or  un- 
interesting in  sentiment,  but  what  "points  a  moral  and  adorns 
a  tale." 

In  Shakespeare's  day  the  theatre  was  even  more  or  an 
educational  institution  than  it  is  today.  Books  were  scarce 
in  that  age,  and  the  newspapers  were  an  undiscovered  med- 
ium of  information,  so  that  plays  (especially  historical  plays) 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.  175 

possessed  a  wonderful  interest  for  the  masses,  who  had 
little  chance  for  schooling  or  the  acquirement  of  knowledge 
from  books. 

The  old  chronicles  and  legends  were  freely  used  by  the 
dramatists  of  the  Elizabethan  era,  and  the  incidents  of  his- 
tory were  made  so  familiar  to  the  habitues  of  the  theatre  that 
the  common  people  acquired  a  good  knowledge  of  history  by 
witnessing  the  representation  of  those  plays.  To  illustrate 
how  much  this  was  the  case,  Ben  Jonson  tells  the  story  of  a 
fellow  who,  having  been  taken  to  task  on  some  question  of 
history  and  the  accuracy  of  his  position  being  assailed  and 
the  authenticity  of  his  assertions  being  called  in  question,  re- 
plied by  way  of  defense :  "No,  I  confess  I  had  it  not  from 
the  histories  but  from  the  play  books,  and  consider  them  the 
more  authentic." 

Many  dramas  have  been  written  (and  more  especially 
by  the  poets)  without  perhaps  having  in  view  their  exploita- 
tion on  the  stage,  but  like  their  other  poetry,  to  be  read,  suit- 
able only  for  the  library,  more  poetical  than  dramatic. 

Such  are  the  plays  of  Byron,  Shelley,  Keats,  Moore,  and 
others.  A  still  greater  number  have  been  written  solely  for 
acting  purposes ;  and  the  majority  of  these  may  not  lay  claim 
to  any  permanent  abiding  place  in  literature.  Others  still 
are  admirably  adapted  to  both  the  library  and  the  stage. 
Such  are  the  plays  of  Sheridan,  Knowles,  Bulwer,  Schiller, 
Kotzebue,  and  later  of  Heinrick  Ibsen.  Of  such  a  character 
also  are  the  plays  of  our  gifted  Salt  Lake  dramatist,  the  late 
Edward  W.  Tullidge.  The  present-day  theatre-goers  have 
little  time  to  indulge  'in  the  reading  of  plays.  The  over- 
whelming mass  of  reading  matter  thrown  from  the  press, 
keeps  the  general  reader  busy  to  keep  abreast  of  the  current 
literature  of  our  times.  So  that  plays  form  no  part  of  the 
world's  reading  matter ;  here  and  there  is  one,  some  stage- 
struck  soul  who  loves  to  get  hold  of  and  read  a  play,  but  the 
vast  majority  are  content  to  let  the  actors  read  the  plays 
for  them,  preferring  to  witness  the  acting  of  them.  It  is  a 
fact  and  a  very  gratifying  one  that  Shakespeare's  plays  are 
about  the  only  ones  that  are  read  nowadays,  and  these  are  by 
no  means  so  universally  read  as  they  should  be.  The  masses 
have  not  time  for  reading  Shakespeare,  or  other  dramatists, 
so  it  is  a  fortunate  thing  for  them  that  the  theatres  are  so 
popular  and  accessible ;  here,  they  can  hear  the  thoughts  and 
sentiments,  and  see  in  literal  action  the  characters  of  both 
ancient  and  modern  times,  and  gather  from  the  mimic  scene 


176  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

suggestions  of  the  tremendous  throes  and  struggles  through 
which  the  human  race  has  passed. 

During  the  forty-three  years  that  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre 
has  been  in  existence,  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  plays 
have  been  presented  and  thousands  of  actors  (as  infinite  in 
variety  as  the  plays)  have  "strutted  and  fretted  their  brief 
hour  upon  its  stage"  and  now  are  heard  no  more.  It  is  a 
solemn  reflection  that  in  all  probability  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  all  who  have  trod  the  stage  of  this  theatre,  both 
local  and  transient  actors,  in  less  than  half  a  century  of  ex- 
istence are  "heard  no  more."  The  voices  that  have  thrilled 
us,  the  animated  and  beautified  forms  that  have  called  forth 
our  admiration  and  praise,  are  stilled  forever  by  the  chilling 
touch  of  death ;  genius,  mediocrity,  incompetency,  all  alike 
go  down,  and  the  greatest  names  in  a  few  brief  years  are  for- 
gotten;  so  transitory  is  the  actor's  fame.  Yet  it  is  not  more 
so  perhaps  than  that  of  other  professions,  and  certainly  not 
quite  so  much  of  a  "will  o'  the  wisp"  as  "seeking  the  bubble 
reputation  in  the  cannon's  mouth." 

Out  of  the  multitudinous  dramatic  pictures  that  have 
been  presented  on  the  stage  of  this  theatre  during  its  forty- 
three  years  of  existence,  it  is  interesting  to  know  which 
stand  out  in  bold  relief.  We  need  not  hesitate  to  reply,  the 
plays  of  Shakespeare,  and  those  that  are  nearest  akin  to  them, 
such  as  Bulwer's  "Richelieu,"  Knowles'  "Virginius,"  Ba- 
nim's  "Damon  and  Pythias."  The  Irish  plays  of  Dion  Bou- 
cicault,  "Colleen  Bawn,"  "Arrah  Na  Pogue,"  "Shaugraun," 
"Kerry,"  and  even  his  "London  Assurance,"  made  very 
strong  impressions,  were  very  popular,  and  made  money  both 
for  actors  and  managers.  So  with  many  other  plays  we 
might  cite ;  but  compared  with  Shakespeare's  plays  they  have 
proven  to  be  short-lived  and  their  fame  but  transitory.  They 
have  never  found  a  permanent  abiding  place  in  the  world  of 
literature. 

There  is  a  strange,  a  marvelous  thing  in  connection  with 
the  plays  of  Shakespeare.  In  his  day  the  theatre  was  not 
popular,  as  it  is  in  our  times.  The  religionists  held  it  in  re- 
probation ;  actors  were  looked  upon  by  the  good  church  peo- 
ple as  little  better  than  vagabonds,  and  the  occupation  of 
play  writing  was  scarcely  reputable.  The  Globe  Theatre,  the 
best  there  was  in  London  at  that  time,  was  little  better  than  a 
barn.  The  art  of  scene  painting  was  unknown.  Candles 
were  the  best  artificial  light  they  had,  all  the  accessories  of 
the  stage  were  of  the  most  primitive  description.  The  art 


THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE.        177 

of  costuming  plays  was  crude  in  the  extreme,  and  woefully 
inadequate  and  incorrect.  In  short,  the  facilities  for  staging 
plays  were  poor,  extremely  poor,  as  compared  with  those  of 
our  own  time.  The  greatest  drawback  of  all  however  was 
this.  They  had  no  women  on  the  stage ;  all  those  beautiful 
female  characters  of  Shakespeare's  were  impersonated  by 
men.  Woman  had  not  yet  asserted  her  independence  and 
equality  with  man  in  this  domain  of  art ;  and  yet  under  these 
most  adverse  conditions,  the  greatest  plays  the  world  has  ever 
seen  were  written.  Three  centuries  have  winged  their  flight 
into  the  past,  and  in  all  that  time  no  other  dramatist  has 
arisen  that  can  rival  Shakespeare.  The  popularity  of  the 
theatre  and  the  actor's  art  have  steadily  grown  since  his 
time  until  in  our  own  day  we  have  the  most  costly  and  elab- 
orate theatres.  In  every  city,  and  almost  every  town  of  the 
civilized  world,  there  is  some  sort  of  a  theatre ;  many  of  them 
are  truly  temples  of  the  Thespian  art ;  invention  has  racked 
its  brains  to  supply  original  and  costly  adjuncts  to  the  drama 
in  the  way  of  scenery  and  mechanical  devices ;  realism  has 
run  mad  in  its  efforts  to  produce  novel  illusions  and  startling 
stage  effects.  Woman  has  long  since  demonstrated  her 
equality  with  man  in  the  arena  of  dramatic  art,  and  for  more 
than  two  centuries  she  has  adorned  the  stage  with  her  beauty, 
grace  and  talents.  There  is  an  eager  and  expectant  world 
of  theatregoers  waiting  for  some  new  genius  to  come  forth 
and  give  to  the  stage  another  halo,  to  shed  a  radiance  over 
its  flickering  lights,  and  fill  the  world  with  wonder  and  de- 
light ;  but  alas !  no  other  Shakespeare  has  arisen ;  with  the 
models  he  gave  before  them,  in  three  centuries  no  dramatist 
has  arisen  that  could  write  a  "Hamlet,"  a  "Macbeth,"  or  a 
"Lear ;"  nothing  in  all  that  time  to  equal  "Romeo  and  Juliet," 
"As  You  Like  It,"  or  "The  Merchant  of  Venice." 

There  have  been  hundreds  of  playwrights  since  Shakes- 
peare's time,  thousands  of  plays  have  been  written,  the 
greater  portion  of  them  worthless  to  the  stage,  but  a  great 
number  of  excellent  playwrights  have  flourished  since  then, 
and  their  plays  have  had  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  success. 
We  will  just  instance  a  few  of  the  most  successful  ones. 
Otway  wrote  "Venice  Preserved ;"  Massinger,  "A  New  Way 
to  Pay  Old  Debts;"  Addison  his  "Cato,"  Goethe  his 
"Faust;"  Schiller  "The  Robbers;"  Kotzebue,  "The  Stran- 
ger;" Bellinghousen,  "Ingomar;"  Sheridan,  "The  School  of 
Scandal,"  "Pizarro"  and  "The  Rivals;"  Knowles,  "The 
Hunchback,"  "Virginius"  and  "William  Tell ;"  John  How- 


178  THE  MORMONS  AND  THE  THEATRE. 

ard  Payne,  "Brutus  ;"  Bulwer,  "The  Lady  of  Lyons,"  "Riche- 
lieu" and  "Money ;"  Dr.  Bird,  "The  Gladiator ;"  Judge  Con- 
rad, "Jack  Cade;"  George  F.  Boker,  "Francisca  de  Rimini." 
I  might  instance  many  others,  but  these  will  suffice  tor  my 
purpose.  Now  these  are  all  noble  productions,  and  have 
won  fame  and  money  for  both  authors  and  actors ;  but  it  is 
questionable  if  any  of  them  will  live  indefinitely.  Already 
many  of  the  plays  I  have  named  are  waning  in  the  dramatic 
firmament ;  some  of  them  have  already  set.  Why  is  it,  let  us 
ask.  What  is  there  in  Shakespeare's  plays  that  lifts  them 
so  far  above  the  average  of  merit  and  sets  them  on  a  plane 
so  distinctively  their  own?  Other  authors  have  certainly 
equaled  Shakespeare  in  erudition,  have  even  excelled  him  in 
the  description  of  the  sublime  and  terrible,  surpassed  him 
in  glowing  pictures  of  supernatural  imagery.  Why,  then, 
does  the  world  attach  so  much  importance  to  the  work  of 
Shakespeare  ?  Why  are  they  so  highly  prized  ?  It  is  because 
Shakespeare  was  the  grand  High  Priest  of  Nature !  He  got 
closer  to  the  human  heart  than  any  and  all  other  authors.  To 
him  nature  was  an  open  book,  and  he  was  so  thoroughly  in 
love  with  it,  that  he  left  no  page  unturned  or  unobserved ; 
from  the  primer  page  or  the  humblest  creations  of  nature's 
lavish  hand  up  through  the  countless  and  variegated  speci- 
mens of  her  handiwork  to  the  crowning  production  of  her 
creative  power,  man — this  son  of  genius  penetrated  all  her 
secrets,  delved  all  her  deptbs,  scaled  her  loftiest  heights.  The 
heart  of  man,  that  secret  repository  of  so  many  contending 
passions ;  that  cradle  where  the  affections  are  rocked  into 
life ;  that  fountain  whence  so  many  varying  emotions 
spring,  that  sea  o'er  which  are  swept  the  multitudinous  pas- 
sions of  life,  was  also  to  him  an  open  page;  the  last  and 
greatest  chapter  in  nature's  wonderful  volume.  Ht  under- 
stood life  in  all  its  phases. 

No  plays  afford  greater  opportunity  for  scenic  splendor 
than  Shakespeare's,  yet  none  are  less  dependent  on  the  ad- 
juncts of  scenery  and  outward  realism.  Shakespeare  put 
his  realism  into  his  characters  and  no  inadequate  surround- 
ings can  rob  them  of  their  wondrous  charms ;  they  possess 
such  range  of  mental  vision,  such  tremendous  power  of 
thought,  such  depth  and  placidity,  such  glowing  imagination ; 
his  characters  are  living,  breathing,  speaking  types  of  the  age 
in  which  they  lived,  and  he  their  creator  stands  out  wholly 
beyond  question  or  ispute,  the  most  transcendent  genius 
our  earth  has  ever  produced. 


